Wow. I think I say this every week- where is all the time going? Last night I looked at Nate and said, "Can you believe that I am pregnant?" Little moments like this really make me step back and be thankful for all the entire situation. Not for one minute do I take for granted how blessed we have been. To get pregnant in the first place is a miracle in itself and now to have been pregnant for 8 months makes my heart melt.
I can't help but feel guilty for how great things turned out up to this point. I have watched so many people suffer through miscarriages, infertility, and death of a new born. Sometimes it's just hard for me to accept that people do have success and happy endings with pregnancy. Though we are not out of the woods yet I just want everyone to know that I am loving the gift of life inside me.
I cannot wait to meet her and hold her in my arms and watch Nate's reaction to how little he thinks she is :) Recently all my dreams focus on the positivity. Of course there are moments of fear but family steps in to help out. My dream last night I woke up thinking I forgot to feed the baby but family was staying with us and they let me sleep while they fed her for me. Although not an ideal situation, it makes me feel loved that I am not alone in this no matter how far away I am!
Even though it was just a dream I thank everyone for being there for both of us. We love you all!!!
Tchau,
Sara
Monday, June 6, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Lint trap?
Pictures above are of the lint I took out of the trap, the dryer, the inside of the dryer, close up of the lint trap located at the back wall of the inside of the dryer. Random much?
Belle's Rights
Recently questions surrounding Belle's rights being born in another country have come into conversation. Here is what we know to be true.
She will be born in Brazil and given a Brazilian birth certificate at the hospital once Nate and I provide them with our marriage certificate and other documentation. Once we have this birth certificate, which we leave the hospital with, then we pass it along to someone who does all the rest of the paperwork for us!!
This lady, who will be working for us, informed Nate that once she has the Brazilian birth certificate she will obtain the following for Belle: a USA birth certificate, a SSN# from the USA, a USA Passport, a Brazilian Passport, a CPF (brazilian SSN), and any other documentation needed.
Belle will be considered a Natural born US citizen immediately and a Brazilian citizen immediately. Many of you may be thinking that the US doesn't allow dual citizenships. This is true, I believe, if you are already a US citizen applying for another country's citizenship. For example, if I try to become a Brazilian citizen I would have to relinquish my US citizenship. This does not apply for citizens of Brazil applying for US citizenship or some other country's in the world.
Belle automatically becomes a natural born US citizen. Why and how? This happens not only for military families living overseas but for all citizens of the US. There must be at least one parent of the new born child that is a US citizen to claim US citizenship for said child. Yes, she can run for president if she wants to.
Belle automatically becomes a Brazilian citizen. Why and how? The same thing that happens in the US when a child is born on her soil. By Belle being born here she is granted automatic citizenship. Nate and I can chose to give up her citizenship or keep it but it will always be there if in the future she wanted it. We have chose to keep it and follow up with all the paperwork necessary because of the story below and other beneficial reasons for her.
We have friends right now that gave up in the process and it's now hurting their son at 18 years old. He grew up in the US but was born in Brazil. Now at 18 he wants to travel to Brazil but during an investigation to obtain his proper documentation they found out that Brazil illegally issued their sons passport to a random person. The family has hired a Brazilian lawyer that told them this happens often to families who do not claim their citizenship before 18 years of age. Right now it they have to track down the person using their sons identity, who knows if he did anything illegal, and clear the record. I don't ever want to have to go through this.... ever!
Along with Belle's rights then Nate and I will get some rights as well. We both, after investigation, become Permanent residents of Brazil. To meet this requirement the government will send officials to periodically check our home and living status. Once approved we can trade in our temporary resident visas for permanent visas. This all happens within our USA passport.
That's about all I know. Of course as we find out more information we will keep you updated!!
Tchau,
Sara
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Crazy Cabbie
I filled yesterday with a trip to the spa to get my nails done and then met a friend for lunch. I even managed to stumble upon a maternity store and bought two pair of maternity shorts- pictures later! I also managed to buy a pair of shoes.... shhhhh :)
I've said it before and I will say it again. Some days Portuguese isn't a problem at all and everything falls into place. The heavens open and you feel great about yourself and Brazil because you are invincible. Until the cabbie and I met.
After an entire day full of successful conversations and zero miscommunications I felt pretty confident stepping into the cab for the ride home. Instead of just getting into the cab and making a request to go home then quietly playing with my phone I started up a conversation.
We talked about the difference in Macae and Rio, my husband and his job, my friends and family, directions to get to our random hotel, a wreck that happened on the road, religion involving names in the bible, Belle, my doctor and hospital and the list goes on. We didn't stop talking the entire 25min ride home. During these topics he lectured me on how terrible my Portuguese was and that I should be fluent by now (he should meet my husband :)) He told me about his friends that have been here for two years and have no problems at all. Of course they are single and have Brazilian lovers- Don't think Nate would go for that at all.
I laughed inside my head and the bashing overflowed into me needing more friends and more trips to the spa. He said it was obvious that I didn't talk to my maid ever... I do and he said not enough then! Then he continued to give me a Portuguese lesson telling me to be more expressive and to use more inflection in my voice while we practiced words.
Honestly he was the nicest man ever but seriously. I understood everything he was saying and had an answer for it all. I look back and I feel proud to be this far in Portuguese. Most of the time I have problems hearing what people are saying but I don't really have a problem speaking.... random. Plus I agreed with everything he said. I do need more Brazilian friends and I do need to go to the spa more! Right now the Brazilian friends that I have speak such great English it would be a crime speak Portuguese in front of them.
In lieu of what the crazy cabbie said to me I decided to count up the months that I have actually spent in Brazil minus all of our vacations and trips home. As of right now we have called Brazil home for 18 months but I have only been in the country for 11 months. That's less than a year and consecutively the longest stint I have done is four months. Of course that's not an excuse but I know that I have come far and continue to get better everyday.
Now with Belle on the way I know I will make leaps and bounds in my language skills plus I won't be going home for awhile. It will be the longest period of time that I spend here clocking in at 8 months! Anyway, I feel nothing but content when I think of my life here and I will continue on as I have been. The cabbie didn't hurt my feelings because he was speaking the truth, if Portuguese was my main goal in living here.
Ahhh the convos I get myself into. To bad he doesn't live in Macae and I could hire him as a teacher!
Now off to dinner with some more friends!
Tchau,
Sara
I've said it before and I will say it again. Some days Portuguese isn't a problem at all and everything falls into place. The heavens open and you feel great about yourself and Brazil because you are invincible. Until the cabbie and I met.
After an entire day full of successful conversations and zero miscommunications I felt pretty confident stepping into the cab for the ride home. Instead of just getting into the cab and making a request to go home then quietly playing with my phone I started up a conversation.
We talked about the difference in Macae and Rio, my husband and his job, my friends and family, directions to get to our random hotel, a wreck that happened on the road, religion involving names in the bible, Belle, my doctor and hospital and the list goes on. We didn't stop talking the entire 25min ride home. During these topics he lectured me on how terrible my Portuguese was and that I should be fluent by now (he should meet my husband :)) He told me about his friends that have been here for two years and have no problems at all. Of course they are single and have Brazilian lovers- Don't think Nate would go for that at all.
I laughed inside my head and the bashing overflowed into me needing more friends and more trips to the spa. He said it was obvious that I didn't talk to my maid ever... I do and he said not enough then! Then he continued to give me a Portuguese lesson telling me to be more expressive and to use more inflection in my voice while we practiced words.
Honestly he was the nicest man ever but seriously. I understood everything he was saying and had an answer for it all. I look back and I feel proud to be this far in Portuguese. Most of the time I have problems hearing what people are saying but I don't really have a problem speaking.... random. Plus I agreed with everything he said. I do need more Brazilian friends and I do need to go to the spa more! Right now the Brazilian friends that I have speak such great English it would be a crime speak Portuguese in front of them.
In lieu of what the crazy cabbie said to me I decided to count up the months that I have actually spent in Brazil minus all of our vacations and trips home. As of right now we have called Brazil home for 18 months but I have only been in the country for 11 months. That's less than a year and consecutively the longest stint I have done is four months. Of course that's not an excuse but I know that I have come far and continue to get better everyday.
Now with Belle on the way I know I will make leaps and bounds in my language skills plus I won't be going home for awhile. It will be the longest period of time that I spend here clocking in at 8 months! Anyway, I feel nothing but content when I think of my life here and I will continue on as I have been. The cabbie didn't hurt my feelings because he was speaking the truth, if Portuguese was my main goal in living here.
Ahhh the convos I get myself into. To bad he doesn't live in Macae and I could hire him as a teacher!
Now off to dinner with some more friends!
Tchau,
Sara
Monday, May 30, 2011
31 Weeks!
Labs are good! I don't have gestational diabetes!!!! The only thing that was a little low was my calcium which is crazy because of all the milk and yogurt consumed during this time. Even my iron managed to stay strong. Looks like I will be upping the supplements and milk drinking. (Bleh. the milk here is gross!)
Only a few things new on the pregnancy front. The weeks keep going by faster and faster which makes me feel a little underprepared. One day I'm completely ready for her to be here and the next minute I freak out. I assume this is normal for any pregnancy.
Her bags are packed and ready to go. The other day I went through all the baby stuff and picked out some outfits for her to wear in the hospital. Many of you may be thinking why I need to do this. Well the hospital doesn't provide clothes, diapers and other random things. This makes packing that much harder! I want to throw everything in her bag and the thought, "well what if she needs that or this."
So her bag is filled with the following:
Onesies
Sleepers with the footies
Socks- Brazilians are crazy about babies wearing socks at all times
Hats
Burp rags
Blankets
Little grooming kit
Shampoo/Lotion
Diapers
Wipes
Changing pad
Sacks for dirty diapers
I am sure that I am forgetting something but that should at least get her through the first few days. The problem lies with the fact that we haven't toured the hospital yet and we have no idea how long a normal pregnancy is required to stay in the hospital. I still want the bags packed that way it's one less thing for us to worry about.
I have even started packing my bag for the hospital but it's a little difficult since I need all those clothes now! So far I only have the bare necessities which doesn't matter because I know I can go without for a few days. I guess that's the new mom mode. Take care of everyone but yourself....
Today Nate and I are off to Rio together for the next three to four days. He has a few meetings that we need to attend so I am going to tag along :) I just can't bear to not see for another short stint away! Can I claim crazy hormones on this one? Nah. I am sure you all know that this normal Sara.
Tchau,
Sara
Sunday, May 29, 2011
No beach?
Belly itches and other stuff
A bunch of random things are going on these days so here's a post to jumble them all together.
Nate finally made it home on Friday and we had a little date night. We went to an Italian restaurant that we haven't been to yet in Macae, surprisingly. It's nothing special but it's one of those places that you never think to go until it's too late. Anyway, the food was expensive but good. I ordered wrong for the first time in a very long time. The list was confusing and I didn't pay much attention but I thought I was ordered pasta and it turned out to be bruchetta. Little pieces of bread with gorgonzola on them. The list said pastas so I blame them :) not me not paying attention!
Dinner went great until I saw a rat the size of a small cat scampering on the pipes by the ceiling. Sad to say but I was more intrigued then appalled. This is Macae and you can expect anything. The same standards that I have heard come from Rio and Sao Paulo do not exit here and they come at a higher price. Nate fought me on what I saw but I know a rat when I see one. Turns out the hill that the restaurant occupies has problems with rat infestations. Gross but what are you going to do? Kinda sucks though to spend almost USD$100 for two appetizers, a small pizza, two waters and a beer for Nate only to watch the rat show.
Saturday Nate suggested that we walk on the board walk and I almost had a heart attack. He never wants to walk with me on a Saturday morning. We ended up running into friends and decided to have lunch with them which turned into an all day event involving the Hangover 2 and dinner out with even more friends.
For me the past few days my belly has been itching like crazy and I cannot put enough shea butter on it! Now will be the point where I get stretch marks because I am an over filled balloon. I recently went through my closet to find shirt that actually fit over my expanding waist line which didn't go so well. I am very limited at this point and the weather keeps getting colder. Things are going to get interesting in the next few months!
I found out that I am missing two critical shirts in my closet. I have no idea what I could have done with them. The search will continue and until then it's going to drive me crazy. Two actual maternity shirts that I recently bought are missing :( Easy thing would be to blame Claudia but I am absent minded enough to lose things on mine own. Tomorrow I will ask her though if she has seen them because maybe she put them in a weird place.
The weather is actually cold! For me at least. I think Nate is loving not sweating every moment of the day. For me this means long pants and a long sleeve shirt. Possibly even a jacket for the evening. When we went to the movie theater the place even had the heater on! Only in Brazil! Honestly I think it's only in the upper 60's but when your used to upper 90's that a big change.
Not much else going on right now just a lazy Sunday planned.
Tchau,
Sara
Nate finally made it home on Friday and we had a little date night. We went to an Italian restaurant that we haven't been to yet in Macae, surprisingly. It's nothing special but it's one of those places that you never think to go until it's too late. Anyway, the food was expensive but good. I ordered wrong for the first time in a very long time. The list was confusing and I didn't pay much attention but I thought I was ordered pasta and it turned out to be bruchetta. Little pieces of bread with gorgonzola on them. The list said pastas so I blame them :) not me not paying attention!
Dinner went great until I saw a rat the size of a small cat scampering on the pipes by the ceiling. Sad to say but I was more intrigued then appalled. This is Macae and you can expect anything. The same standards that I have heard come from Rio and Sao Paulo do not exit here and they come at a higher price. Nate fought me on what I saw but I know a rat when I see one. Turns out the hill that the restaurant occupies has problems with rat infestations. Gross but what are you going to do? Kinda sucks though to spend almost USD$100 for two appetizers, a small pizza, two waters and a beer for Nate only to watch the rat show.
Saturday Nate suggested that we walk on the board walk and I almost had a heart attack. He never wants to walk with me on a Saturday morning. We ended up running into friends and decided to have lunch with them which turned into an all day event involving the Hangover 2 and dinner out with even more friends.
For me the past few days my belly has been itching like crazy and I cannot put enough shea butter on it! Now will be the point where I get stretch marks because I am an over filled balloon. I recently went through my closet to find shirt that actually fit over my expanding waist line which didn't go so well. I am very limited at this point and the weather keeps getting colder. Things are going to get interesting in the next few months!
I found out that I am missing two critical shirts in my closet. I have no idea what I could have done with them. The search will continue and until then it's going to drive me crazy. Two actual maternity shirts that I recently bought are missing :( Easy thing would be to blame Claudia but I am absent minded enough to lose things on mine own. Tomorrow I will ask her though if she has seen them because maybe she put them in a weird place.
The weather is actually cold! For me at least. I think Nate is loving not sweating every moment of the day. For me this means long pants and a long sleeve shirt. Possibly even a jacket for the evening. When we went to the movie theater the place even had the heater on! Only in Brazil! Honestly I think it's only in the upper 60's but when your used to upper 90's that a big change.
Not much else going on right now just a lazy Sunday planned.
Tchau,
Sara
Friday, May 27, 2011
Come home!
I want Nate to come home! Yesterday his meeting got postponed and so he had to stay another night in Rio :( Now he is waiting around to take another guy back to Macae with him. I cannot wait for the day his traveling ceases but I fear that it will always be part of our lives. At least it's not as bad as it used to be when he first started with the company six years ago. I don't think we ever saw each other!
Now days his traveling goes in spurts where he spends a few days away at a time but nothing like the old day which exceeded 30 days. It's weird how you get trained to miss them less the more time they spend away. At first you miss them like crazy and then numbness settles in as it becomes a regular event.
When you know they are coming home the response to 'want them home now' kicks in. All emotional barriers break down and your mind allows you to feel. In my case it means tears over stupid things. For example, crying over not wanting to walk to the store to get food but I have no food and I am hungry. The thought process behind that set of tears was if Nate were home then he could take me to the store. Then I begin to miss him more. Ahhhh emotions you are killing me!!!
Waiting for Nate while eating pasta.
Tchau,
Sara
Now days his traveling goes in spurts where he spends a few days away at a time but nothing like the old day which exceeded 30 days. It's weird how you get trained to miss them less the more time they spend away. At first you miss them like crazy and then numbness settles in as it becomes a regular event.
When you know they are coming home the response to 'want them home now' kicks in. All emotional barriers break down and your mind allows you to feel. In my case it means tears over stupid things. For example, crying over not wanting to walk to the store to get food but I have no food and I am hungry. The thought process behind that set of tears was if Nate were home then he could take me to the store. Then I begin to miss him more. Ahhhh emotions you are killing me!!!
Waiting for Nate while eating pasta.
Tchau,
Sara
Thursday, May 26, 2011
How much longer?
This morning I casually turned on the computer to check my labs from this Monday morning to find nothing is ready. It won't be ready until Monday!! What? Why seven days? Then I started to check what I was actually being tested for besides the blood sugar and urine....
1. Complete blood count including Hematocrit, hemoglobin... blah blah blah
2. Toxoplasmosis. Again (So glad they check it again)
3. Cytomeglovirus. Again (Same for this!)
4. Rubeola. Again- I was immune the first time around so I guess just to double check. Glad either way.
5. Iron (Cross my fingers this is good)
6. Calcium (Been taking extra extra supplements not to mention tons of yogurt!)
7. Blood Sugar
8. Typical urine and culture
Ok. Still, seven days for these? I can buy an at home monitor and check my blood sugar in less than a minute. Not to mention I know that urine doesn't take that long in the lab either so why not post those results a little sooner? Maybe I am being impatient but I want to know!
As for the other labs. Yes, I am curious to know the results. Especially since you can get toxoplasmosis from fruits, veggies, and some meats down here and not just from cats litter boxes like in the US. This one actually has me freaked out if I really think about it. Even though I try to play the ignorant patient sometimes I can't pull it off.
I guess I just going to have to be patient for the next five days. Oh and just to blow your minds- I am almost 8 months pregnant!! Can't wait till week 34 when lung maturity is at it's peak and then I can rest easy.
Patiently waiting patient :)
Tchau,
Sara
1. Complete blood count including Hematocrit, hemoglobin... blah blah blah
2. Toxoplasmosis. Again (So glad they check it again)
3. Cytomeglovirus. Again (Same for this!)
4. Rubeola. Again- I was immune the first time around so I guess just to double check. Glad either way.
5. Iron (Cross my fingers this is good)
6. Calcium (Been taking extra extra supplements not to mention tons of yogurt!)
7. Blood Sugar
8. Typical urine and culture
Ok. Still, seven days for these? I can buy an at home monitor and check my blood sugar in less than a minute. Not to mention I know that urine doesn't take that long in the lab either so why not post those results a little sooner? Maybe I am being impatient but I want to know!
As for the other labs. Yes, I am curious to know the results. Especially since you can get toxoplasmosis from fruits, veggies, and some meats down here and not just from cats litter boxes like in the US. This one actually has me freaked out if I really think about it. Even though I try to play the ignorant patient sometimes I can't pull it off.
I guess I just going to have to be patient for the next five days. Oh and just to blow your minds- I am almost 8 months pregnant!! Can't wait till week 34 when lung maturity is at it's peak and then I can rest easy.
Patiently waiting patient :)
Tchau,
Sara
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Nate's in Rio
Once again Nate travels to Rio for a few days. Back in the day I used to follow him but now the trip is just to much for me. I can barely handle driving down to see the doctor! He should be back by Thursday which leaves me with just a few nights without him.
Funny to say that I can't sleep very good when Nate is here because we both take up the whole bed but when he is gone I struggle just as much. For some reason I have gotten so used to him being by my side that it's hard to live without. I guess that's a good thing right?
In the mean time I have plans of my own to keep me occupied. Tomorrow I will be golfing with the girls which I know is going to wear me out and then I will sleep really good from exhaustion. Then on Thursday I have a ladies night dinner to say goodbye to a friend who is going home for a couple of months. In between trips to the grocery store, walks and laundry I think my days will be full enough to not miss Nate too much.
On to catch up on girly tv shows that Nate doesn't like!
Tchau,
Sara
Funny to say that I can't sleep very good when Nate is here because we both take up the whole bed but when he is gone I struggle just as much. For some reason I have gotten so used to him being by my side that it's hard to live without. I guess that's a good thing right?
In the mean time I have plans of my own to keep me occupied. Tomorrow I will be golfing with the girls which I know is going to wear me out and then I will sleep really good from exhaustion. Then on Thursday I have a ladies night dinner to say goodbye to a friend who is going home for a couple of months. In between trips to the grocery store, walks and laundry I think my days will be full enough to not miss Nate too much.
On to catch up on girly tv shows that Nate doesn't like!
Tchau,
Sara
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