17 week update

Things appear to be going OK, though I do keep worrying about whether the mango (aka the strawberry) is healthy and growing well. My pregnancy still doesn't really feel like anything really different and I'm not really showing so I am still worrying about whether it's alive. I read a lot of posts from mothers and I know I'm not the only one that worries about this but it is still a difficult thing to live with. So, being the person that I am, I am wondering if there are any tools that can be created for mothers to be to keep a tab on baby and it's progress on a daily basis. Not to encourage paranoia but to help alleviate some of the fears? It is something I plan on investigating. I know that in the USA you can hire a baby doppler machine to listen to its heartbeat but have yet to be able to find this here in the Netherlands! If only.

Yesterday I read about a pregnant woman going shopping with her mother and her mother speaking to her mother-to-mother for te first tme, rather than mother-to-daughter. This made me cry and I couldn't stop for ages. I know that would never happen with my mother and the distance between us is massive. I wish it could and it makes me extremely sad that it can't but I know there is nothing that I can do about it. Even so, it is still hard not to wish for it.

Well, that's it from me. Pictures later - I tried to upload bubba moore but the picture was too large and I couldn't! Next time.

bubba atkins moore

ok - before you say anything.....i will be insulted if you think it looks like an alien. 'cause i think the alien is kinda cute. especially when it was wiggling about and waving it's arms in the air (like it just don't care)! moo has taken to calling it "the strawberry", which is sweet, but i have to keep reminding him that it's quite a lot larger than that by now!! more like a kiwi or a mandarin or something! anyway, here's a picture - decide for yourself! :-)

baby news

well well well.............tippaniny has NEWS!!!!!

yep.....tippaniny is now seeing she must start behaving as tippaniny has a bun in the oven. little junior will be joining to world mid/late may 2007 if all goes well as i am about 7 weeks right now. i am amused that i am likely to have a taurean piggy bubba - one exactly like me! get ready for it world!! Looks like we conceived when we were visiting antho and nic in london on their airbed! i'm sure that'll amuse them. ;-)

it is very strange to be pregnant that's for sure. especially so early on as there is no bump to see.....the only things that have happened are typical ones.....sore boobs, sensitivity to smells, increase in temperature and needing to go to the loo more often. that is actually how i realised i was pregnant because last week i woke up at 3:30 every morning to pee. quit annoying really until i realised why. :-) i also get quite tired and sleep overcomes me sometimes. one thing i haven't noticed but moo mentioned tonight is that i am on a hormone happy high. he likes that as he can do no wrong. i told him not to get too cocky as "what goes up must come down". ;-) i also seem to crave "healthy" foods and chilli. weird. anything fried or oily repeats on me. probably a good thing as i don't want to get too big! i have already gained 2 kilos. ouch.

tippaniny also spoke to moymoy today. she is a mummy to happy hazard a sweety little boy bubba. she told me to go for the drugs but i will have to think about that.

well, that's it for the update for now. off to bed as very sleepy.

Imagine

a friend played me a version Madonna sang at a concert.....it was very sweet and really hit home........

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

world cup fever

well I am finally back on the puter (as moo calls it) again after going home to oz for a quick visit and a wedding. what a lovely one it was as well on a sunny winter's afternoon on the beach at kawana island. we stepped off the plane to see that world cup fever is in full swing here in the land of clogs and cheese. indeedy - there has been much wearing of orange by many a dutchie and talk of "futball" dominates the water cooler chat. i can't help fallying prey to the fever as the good ole socceroos are doing us proud by making it into the round of 16. come on aussie, come on!

3-5

ah yes - the big three five. that's what happened today. i have officially joined middle-aged-dom! i am not sure why it's the middle though..............i'm planning to be around til at least 100 so with that in mind - i am just a babe! :-)

april fish

whoa! i have whizzed into april without even knowing it! it's only when everyone didn't believe me today when i told them i fell off the back of moo's bike in the middle of a large intersection and lived to tell the tale that i realised what day it is. (note to self: if incapable of walking then jumping on the back of a bike is not a good idea.)

so back to today.......got me thinking about how all the pranks and foolishness started so i did what all good researchers do - i googled it. not that it helped as noone really knows how april fools day came about exactly but i did find out something that tickled my fancy. the day is called "poisson d'avril" in france (april fish) .......aaaaaah - those crazy frenchies, you gotta love 'em!

time for my nap. i am injured you know. if only i could afford the twelve thousand euro hastens bed we saw on thursday.......if only.............

english words that came from dutch

thoroughly fascinating as this is, it's not helping my dutch any. does anyone out there want to speak to me?

happy st paddys to ya!

drunk and ready for bed by 10pm.....a good night had, to be sure, to be sure. but where did i get the large guinness hat?? hmmmm. i am sure there will be photographic evidence somewhere. it's been a while since i've posted as i've had to work after so many days in bed and of course they actually expect you to work while you're there! wow. you'd think they paid me or something. ha! i am excited, of course, as moo an i are off bed shopping tomorrow, so lots of new ones to try out and snuggle up into. let's see how many dutchies we can freak out by falling asleep cuddled up in the middle of a department store! speaking of cuddling, i'm off to bed......

day 3

ok - it's now my third day back in the office and i'm not sure whether i'm more bored here than after my fifth day home sick. hmmmmm. concerning. well, at least it's thursday and hopefully i will be well enough over the weekend to be able to enjoy it. let's hope it's not raining again.

so i feng shui'd (is that a word??) the bedroom the other day. apparently computers in the bedroom are a BIG no no. too much yang energy for a space that's supposed to be yin energy. i think yang is the male side. makes sense - computers are more male and i'm sure my bed is a girlie. ha! the indian feng shui guru (who knew - i always thought it was solely chinese) suggests having this picture in the bedroom......i'm not sure it's going to help me sleep more restfully though..........

back off to do some work.....only 4 hours and counting........

emergency sirens

whoa! i've never been home at noon on the first monday of the month so was suprsied to hear the test of the emergency sirens, that's for sure. there's no missing them from here - what a relief! imagine if there was an emergency and we couldn't hear them......without a television or radio, moo and i just might miss the nuclear attack. though a bit annoying when you want to take a nap...........

day 5

wow. i had always thought it would be great to not have to go into the office but it's now day 5 sick at home and i am the chairman of the bored.......of course, being sick means no going outside so it's quite easy to go a little stir crazy in 70 square meters. i have managed to read some good books between naps though and wanted to let everyone know about them. sal, bless her heart, brought "Angelas Ashes" over on saturday which kept me busy for a few hours. i know it's been out a while but it always looked really depressing so i never read it. it isn't at all depressing, though it is sad, and reminded me that i have a lot. and while having a cold feels like the end of the world, it isn't. i'll have to buy the next book once i'm up and out and about again. it's the first book that i've been able to get into since i finish isabelle allende's book about her dying daughter, "Paula". that deserves a seperate comment though so i will do that when i'm more inspired and can do it justice. the other book i've been reading is also great. i was going to say one for the girls but actually, i think guys should read it too. it is excellent and hopefully i can keep some of it in mind when i'm back at work. it is one thing to know what to do and a completely different thing to actually do it however. but i will try! anyway, i said i was going to try to be productive today, so i'm off to see what the feng shui rules say about the house cause i'm ready to start moving some furniture around!

who needs a map?

i found this pedestrian/bicycle gps thingy for amsterdam a couple of days ago. and i must say, what a great idea. i actually had the same idea about 3 years ago. but they had the techonology and did something about it. i stayed in bed. it's comfy here and i don't need a map.

are you sure they can't steal it?

i see mercedes have designed an 'auto' bike for release this year. got quite excited as i thought they'd finally managed to make a bike that would ride there for me......but actually, for a couple of grand what you get is greater "safety and comfort". i don't think they knew about the pizza boys hurtling at breakneck speeds down the bike lanes in amsterdam. nothing will save you from them. just ask my eye.

but it is shiny!

let's go dutch

after 5 or so years here i've decided to try to learn dutch again. i say again, cause i did try when i first arrived but without success. got too bored, as did everyone else when they tried to speak to me. i am much more interesting in english. i think. anyway, i have found a fun place to learn dutch in amsterdam finally. wessel makes me laugh! wish me luck - i'm going to need it.

the right direction?

so i'm bored. sick in bed but can't sleep so i am now wandering down the path of self exploration and questioning my existence. (don't panic - this happens a lot when i'm bored and isn't a bad thing.) anyway, to cheer myself up, i went and picked my card for the day. it brought a smile to my face so i thought i'd share.....

pjs, socks and all

i thought it was going to be just another day off work, "sick" in bed and "wasting my life away" (as my moo would say) - but no! i've been productive. somewhat. this is it. i finally got around to getting a blog spot set up. i've been wanting one for so long and now i've got one i'm not sure what to say. i'm sure i'll think of something. i always have an opinion on something.

oh - something else i found today was byron katie's website. worth a look. i don't know that i'm totally sold but i do think there something in what she's saying.

ok - i'm done. i am actually sick. back under the covers i go. mwah.