KaiserTales

I stole all these pictures from my sister-in-law’s Facebook. Enjoy

I think this will go down as the busiest week of my pregnancy. Even judged on pre-pregnancy standards, this has been a damn busy week!

Last Sunday morning, Nate and I departed our house at 5:30 a.m., and he dropped me off at the airport so I could make my 7:30 flight to D.C. Nate’s a saint for getting up at 4:45 in order to drive me to SeaTac, and thankfully, the flight was uneventful. I napped until about halfway in, and then I watched Up In The Air, which I wanted to see anyway   I was in D.C. for work, where the PATH Safe Water Project (my team!) and PATH’s Diarrheal Disease Team joined nearly 30 other organizations to raise awareness around the UN World Water Day.

Nearly one billion people around the world don’t have access to clean drinking water (most water is turbid, filled with harmful or deadly pathogens and disease, and generally not safe for drinking). More than half of child deaths worldwide can be attributed to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Diarrhea–the second leading cause of death in children and the most common cause of illness in the world–is directly caused by unsafe drinking water and unsanitary conditions, yet is completely preventable.

World Water Day was Monday, March 22, and the day started off with a reception at the National Geographic Museum featuring a host of speakers, including Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer, National Geographic Society Chairman Terry Garcia, and Librerian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The reception represented interests from the public and private sector, multi-national companies, foundations, the inter-faith community, and so many nonprofit organizations working to reduce water issues around the globe. I was honored to be part of it!

In honor of World Water Day, the National Geographic Society is offering a free interactive download of their April magazine through April 2. Download your free copy here: http://ow.ly/1pjxK.

The next day was a day of water advocacy on the Hill. In addition to the serious stuff, I participated in the World’s Longest Toilet Queue, along with celebrities Mandy Moore and Alexandra Cousteau (Jacques Cousteau’s grandaughter). These girls know a media stunt when they see one, and they know how to play to the camera. Check out these pics… I don’t think celebrities blink!

Mandy, Alexandra, and the school kids that joined us in the queue, presented Senator John Kerry with a packet of letters that drew attention to the water issues of the world. I don’t know if Senator Kerry knew who Mandy or Alexandra were, but he loved talking to the kids. For me, the whole event was a hoot to be part of!

I got back into Seattle on Tuesday night, only to turn around, load the car and take off to Whistler. Nate and I have celebrated three of our four anniversaries in Whistler, and this year we’re joined by the Barkers. The Village is uncharacteristically quiet–something to do with the month of Olympic and Para-Olympic activity just prior to this week–and that suits us just fine! The snow and conditions are meh, but I still had the opportunity to try out my new skis, and we still skied ALL DAY yesterday. There’s so much terrain and so much elevation, it’s hard to get bored!

Today, Hizz is with the babysitter, I’m resting my legs at a coffee shop and trying to get some work done, and the rest are on the slopes for the 2nd day in a row. The sun is out in the Village, so I hope the visibility up on the mountain is better than yesterday. Most of yesterday’s afternoon skiing was extremely slow on account of only being able to see four-feet ahead. Tomorrow, I’ll be back on the slopes and I hope the spring conditions prove gorgeous and warm.

Pictures to come!

The good
Today, this gorgeous spring Friday, is the fifth anniversary of our engagement, which we usually try to celebrate with a festive dinner at the Wing Dome.

The bad with the good
Today I woke up with stomach cramps that escalated into intense abdominal pains as soon as I stepped out of bed. As I stood, keeled over the bathroom counter, I realized that this day may not go as planned. I made my way back to bed and asked Nate to call the doctor. We were booked for a 9 a.m. appointment soon thereafter. Let me tell you, the time between the 7 a.m. initial pains and our appointment felt like ages.

The good news is that Dim Sum is fine. The baby’s heart rate is strong, my body is giving no indication that I’m going into any sort of early labor, and the kid is still moving like crazy–kicking and punching me every couple of minutes. But I’m not doing so great. The pains were concentrated on my right side, and until mid-morning, they were acute and intense. Even now at 11 p.m., there’s still a constant, dull pain that is sapping my energy.

I didn’t make it into work, I wasn’t allowed to eat anything until after my 3 p.m. ultrasound, and I’ve been in a state of uncomfortable pain for the whole of it, but we salvaged the day with some fun and funny highlights, even if I didn’t get all that exuberant about any of it:

View from the Polyclinic OBGYN office

The view from my doctor’s office is gorgeous. And the day was amazing… it couldn’t have been a more beautiful day.

On our way home, we picked up my new skis from the shop, and they’re pretty awesome. I can’t wait to try them out, and I’ll have the perfect opportunity in Whistler next week.

New tele skis: K2 Gotbacks

When we got home, the cantaloupe that I had set on the counter prior to departure was nearly completely gone. Galt had jumped up on the counter, rolled the melon off of it, and had consumed a good 3/4 of it before we got home. When we arrived, he was so proud of his partially eaten melon.

Proud dog and his melon

I slept for a good part of the afternoon… something that I never do on a typical weekday. Sure, it was a coping mechanism for not being able to eat and being in pain, but a nap in the sun is still nice.

Finally, we did make it out to our engagement anniversary tradition. We went to the Wing Dome for dinner, and it was just as bad and good as it always is.

That was the advice that my mom gave accompanying this adorable story sharing some new research about music and babies. How can you not smile at little ones bouncing to the beat?!?

The background story is here.
Hope this makes you smile like it made me smile.

It was one amazing weekend, well day actually. After a whirlwind day visiting with friends and running errands on Saturday, Marissa and I decided to head off to my parent’s cabin in Eastern Washington.

Upon waking up to an amazing morning with crystal clear blue skies, Galt and I decided to hike the ridge and see if we could get a clear view of the community where the cabin is located:

Upon returning from our little hike, we found an amazing homemade breakfast of Huevos Rancheros waiting for us (well me, I am sure Galt didn’t get any…).

Yum, who doesn't like Huevos Rancheros?

That one meal pretty much invalidated my whole hike, but sometimes you have to go with the flow!

The rest of the day / afternoon was punctuated by naps, snacking, and a bit of plinking…

You talkin' to me? (said with a smile)

Nothing cooler than doing a little shooting in the afternoon. Upon our return, we had homemade enchiladas… More yum, more arterial plaque.

All worth it.

As all good things must come to an end, so did our 24 hour foray to Eastern Washington. The rain hit where it always does on our return to Seattle; halfway between Easton and Snoqualmie Pass.

It was an amazing day.

It’s March! This year is FLYING  by. Admittedly, I haven’t kept up with my resolution to update this blog more regularly, but I hope you’ve found what has been posted somewhat interesting. March is typically a good month for the Kaisers:

We got engaged five years ago, March 19, in New York City. It was a gorgeous spring day–one of the first days of the year where you could feel the warmth of the sun–and Nate and I took the opportunity to walk through Central Park. He surprised me along the trail, one bend before the MET, with a ring and a proposal. We both cried. Of course, I accepted.

Six years ago, March 19, we found ourselves out late after honoring the victims of the Madrid subway bombings. Nate had emailed his contacts list, saying he had reserved Westlake Park and would be standing with a lit candle to show his solidarity to those in Madrid and to take a stand against terrorism. Over 400 people showed up, including the Canadian Vice-Consulate to Spain. It was covered by a number of the major T.V. stations, and we were both overwhelmed by the power of human fellowship and community. We ended up watching Nate’s interview on the news while eating buffalo chicken wings at the Wing Dome. And it’s become an annual tradition, especially because it now also marks the day of our engagement.

Our wedding took place on March 25, four years ago. After basking in the glow of Ailey and Ritchie’s wedding, we’re reminded of our special day and look upon it with incredible fondness. One of the best days of my life, hands down.

We’re establishing a tradition of spending our anniversary in Whistler, B.C. 2010 will be the third year in a row that we spend March 25 in Canada, and I’m really looking forward to it! This year, we’re taking our 1.5-year-old niece and her parents with us. We can’t wait to show the Barkers the Blackcomb Glacier, the Peak to Peak chair, and the expansive Whistler Village. It’s only 2.5 weeks away, and the last time I skied was at Ailey’s bachelorette party. I hope I’m in OK shape to ski three days in a row! Dim Sum loves to ski, by the way

Here’s some pics of my last ski excursion, the mayhem that ensued when off the slopes, and the gorgeous wedding that took place joining Ailey and Ritchie as husband and wife:

Energy! No energy. Burst of energy! No energy… muuuussst sleeeeeeeppp…

That’s the Yo-Yo I’ve experienced in this pregnancy thus far. As it turns out, my mid-January cold lasted until the beginning of February, so most of January was spent in “no energy” mode. Thanks to my G.P. and a dose of antibiotics, I was able to kick the cold by SuperBowl weekend. Not that we had Superbowl plans… Instead the weekend was spent skiing and redeeming myself from a January spent on the couch.

We headed out to the cabin and Mission Ridge Ski Resort where the snow was AWESOME, the company was a barrel of laughs, and the food was phenomenal. That’s my kind of weekend, and it definitely got February off to a good start.

Nate is getting really good on his telemark skis, even if he takes a spill once in awhile in the steep stuff. I learned that my weak legs can’t take two full days of telemark. I switched back to my alpines on the 2nd day, but I can still tear it up

My burst of energy petered out just in time for the work week to start (doh!). I found myself in bed by 8 or 9 p.m. every day of the work week, totally unable to think critically and barely able to process a sentence beyond 6 p.m. That really sucked because it was an incredibly busy week at the office, full of meetings during the day and needing additional attention at night. I’m sitting here on a Sunday at the Mission Ridge Lodge with my work laptop open, not skiing because I need to catch up on some work stuff.  Dammit.

There shouldn’t be anything to complain about though… it’s my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party, I’m with an amazing group of girls, and they are HILARIOUS.

…………………….

OK – I started that blogpost on February 14 (Happy Valentine’s Day), but it’s now March 5 and I’m a LAME-O for waiting this long to post to the blog. I got distracted. Ailey, the girls and I had an amazing weekend in Eastern Washington for her bachelorette party, her and Ritchie’s wedding was too gorgeous for words, and it was family, family family (and friends we would consider family) for awhile there.

The pregnancy Yo-Yo is still if effect. I had planned to work from home on Thursday, but all I managed to do was get up for my 1-hour conference call between Geneva and D.C., and then go back to sleep… for the whole day. Sigh. But I’m in my fifth month now and overall, feeling pretty good. Let’s hope the sunshine, 60-degree weather, and return to a “normal” schedule help keep my and Dim Sum’s energy up through these remaining four months.