KaiserTales

After our Mt. Hood Ski day (which happened to be our last day of the season… glad it was EPIC!), we stopped at the lodge to have a bite. Hazel had a few more bites than the rest of us.

And after she ate, we all had fun watching Hazel imitate Uncle Nate.

If you want to see more of Hazel imitating Uncle Nate, check out her blog >> (It’s too cute!)

(Written April 10, 2010)

Snoozing my way into the third trimester.

OMG. What happened to me over the last week??? I’ve gone from energetic, super-productive, active woman, to lethargic, lazy mess. I can only blame it on the third trimester… I hit 27 weeks today.

Super-productive active woman examples: Last weekend Nate and I drove down to Portland for an impromptu, last minute road trip to spend part of Easter weekend with Eryn, Brian and Hazel. Of course, their Easter weekend is always spent on Mt. Hood, and we were happy to oblige. I was taking powder shots at 3 o’clock in the afternoon off the green chair before we finally decided to quit. Even though my belly size prevents me from effectively buckling my own tele-bindings, we TORE. IT. UP.

And then the next day, being Easter, we visited every single family member from both sides of our families who lives within a 20 mile radius of the city. This is no easy feat, but it’s made significantly easier by potluck dinners, of which there were two. The Kaisers had deviled eggs, ham, homemade rolls, champagne pear salad, green beans, and a choice between banana cream pie and apple pie. (I indulged in all of the above, because I can.) The Marks had ham, turkey, No Mai Fan (sweet-sticky rice, a delicious Chinese tradition at every Mark family meal), green salad and Jello. They had dessert too, but I was too stuffed to even look at the options.

Then I hit the work week, putting in several 10-12 hour days, knocking things off my to-do list, and generally kicking ass…

But then I petered out.

Lethargic, lazy mess examples:

I think it all started with that stupid glucose test where they give the pregnant woman a sugary drink after making her fast for a number of hours beforehand. I was feeling fine until after that damn drink wore off. I guess there are several flavors to choose from, but my doc game me the lemon-lime drink. It was clear and tasted like flat Sprite with extra sugar. No big deal right?

Dim Sum jumped up and down for a few minutes while the doctor gave me my regular monthly examination, all appeared well, they drew my blood after an hour to test for gestational diabetes (no risk of that, thank God), but then the sugar wore off and I came down HARD. Of course, all this happened just in time for me to be at work. I basically sat in my cube, eating bits of cheese and fruit, and tried to stay awake for the rest of the day. I was mildly productive, got home, and promptly took a long nap.

What I didn’t realize is that my body would want to stay in that napping mode for what feels like forever more.

I was absolutely jones-ing on Friday morning to find my way to the ski area this weekend. I was watching the weather, watching the pass reports, watching videos about how SWEET April has been…

And then I crashed again. Or, rather, Dim Sum decided to show me what Braxton Hicks is all about. My stomach cramped in a way I’ve never felt before, starting in my lower abdomen below my belly button and kinda traveling about. Needless to say, I freaked.

I called Nate, who wonderfully came right to my work, decided to go get the car, and take me home. I promptly plopped on the couch and took another long nap, eventually moving to the bed, cuz the couch only stays comfortable for so long. Peppered with friendly visits and social engagements as bright spots in my weekend, I’ve been in a state of half-sleep all day long today. Even though the sun is shining, it’s warm enough to leave the jacket at home, and everyone is enjoying this respite from the cold, I’m at home, contemplating another nap.

I guess I’ll just snooze my way into the third trimester and hope more energy comes my way tomorrow…

My mom forwarded this article to me. It made me smile… I mean, how can you not smile at a bunch of babies dancing to the beat?!?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you want to read a little background on the study, here’s the link:

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.

I’m 3.5 months along. 16 weeks, to be exact. And up through Martin Luther King weekend (when I was 15 weeks along), I hadn’t gained any weight and had no noticeable baby bump. I’m pretty pleased with that fact, cuz I’m rather vain. The thought of getting really big (and yes, I know it will eventually happen) makes me nervous.

But I think it’s starting to happen. My belly is beginning to grow. Let me back up a minute and clarify that other things have grown quite rapidly since I’ve learned I was pregnant… I had to go buy bras a full 2-sizes bigger, and my doctor says they’re not “done” yet. Oy. But up until this point, my belly was not included in the growth spurt. And then yesterday, as I was getting dressed and whining about not being able to breathe, Nate said out loud, “You’ve lost a LOT of definition in your belly.” I didn’t take it personally. I just looked down and rebutted, “I know. I’m pregnant.”

And it’s true. I know. I’m pregnant.

Today in the bath (yes, GASP! I took a bath while pregnant and it was glorious and necessary) I noticed that my belly sticks out a bit more. Not only that, but I think I have one of those belly buttons that’s gonna pop out as my belly grows. It’s definitively less embedded than typical. Silly question, but do they go back in again? Charting my baby bump via how far out my belly button has come is certainly one way to track things, but I hope it goes back down again after Dim Sum makes his/her appearance. (Back to that vanity bit.)

So I guess it’s time to embrace the growing belly, no matter how small. And it’s time to stop being frustrated and annoyed when well-intentioned friends ask “how’s the baby bump?” I can now respond, “small, but growing.” But beware: If I answer “FINE” and then wrap my arms around myself, know that I’m probably in a pissy mood. It might be a good time to tell me how good I look and how you can’t even tell I’m pregnant (… add “from behind” depending on how far along I am at the time). I’m sure you’ll make my day, and then my mood will shift again in an hour because I’m pregnant and that’s what happens with all these hormones. Or so I’m told.

Last weekend was amazing. It was a three-day weekend, thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and we partied it up with all sorts of fun folks… Marina had her birthday, and now she’s now an old bat at 25.  My family all got together to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday, who’s really an old bat at 82 (but she’s as youthful and full of life as Marina is at 25 ) And we had a “sleepover” with the Swifts at my family condo on Snoqualmie Summit. Galt had a BLAST playing with 9-year old Alison in the snow, and we even took in a few tele-turns.

But last week sucked, and I want a do over. Sadly, it began the moment the long weekend started to wane–on the way home from the Summit. I felt a little nauseous (not uncommon for a pregnant woman), and I started to develop a headache. The uncomfortable state of the car ride home only worsened as the evening and week went on. By the time the Tuesday work day ended, I was begging for an appointment with my chiropractor, whom I was certain would help abate the raging pain in my temple. The chiropractic adjustment worked just fine, but it was out with one ailment and in with the next, so to speak. As soon as my headache abated, my throat got a little itchy, my nose started to run, and I came down with an awful head cold.

I thought I’d be tough, stick it out for a couple of days, and get better by the weekend, but that hasn’t happened. In fact, this damn head cold has kept me up at night and made it really hard to breath. I was fine to lose a few weeknights last week, but I’m PISSED to have lost this whole gorgeous weekend to a stupid virus. When I talked to the pharmacist on Thursday, she advised me to take Tylenol or Loratadine (Claritin for those of you who prefer brand names). But after suffering for the past five days, I’ve decided further action is needed. I need something to knock me on my pillow and give me more than 2 hours sleep at a time. The doc says I can start with Benadryl and we’ll work our way up from there. If I graduate to Sudafed, I’m not supposed to take it for more than a couple of days… all because of Dim Sum. (If it weren’t for Dim Sum, you know I’d be taking the Nyquil, sipping the Theraflu, and popping the Codine.)

So yeah, this weekend was pretty much a wash for me. If I could rewind and have it play out differently, I’d be much happier.  It DUMPED today on all the mountains at all the local ski resorts, and I’ve been home sick watching it from my television and reading about it on Facebook. I tried to console myself with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie, and I couldn’t taste a THING. What a waste of calories and a good cookie!

If there was a bright side, at least I got to go to Teatro Zinzani last night. And I didn’t have to pay for it. The show was super fun and I laughed the whole way through… even though my nose was running the whole time. Nate’s new company is pretty cool to have treated its employees and their significant others to dinner theatre for their holiday party. Guess there’s always a silver lining.

So here’s hoping next week is waaaayyyy better than this last one.

New Year's Eve snowstorm over I-90

I have to say, it was a KICK ASS new years. For New Year’s Eve, Nate and I packed up the truck with plenty of food, ski gear and the dog, and headed to the Kaiser family cabin. We made the somewhat treacherous drive over the I-90 Pass, going 35 MPH for much of it, but made it all the way to Eastern Washington without incident. In fact, it was a gorgeous trip, surrounded by winter white! And Nate and I were thrilled that it was snowing, since that meant fresh powder for us once we hit the slopes!

We chilled by ourselves that evening, enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal and watching Uncle Buck on VHS (remember those?!?!) I hadn’t seen the movie in years, and I’m reminded how much I love John Candy and the young Macaulay Caulkin. Our evening was spotted by the occasional cat-nap on the way to midnight, but we somehow managed to be up for the ball drop. Ten years ago, Nate was in Times Square, watching the millennium change over. This year, he was in his jammies laying on the couch. How times have changed…

The next morning, Nate ignored my pleas to sleep in a bit more, and we packed up to hit the slopes. I’m glad he insisted on getting up when we did cuz by the time we got to Mission Ridge, put on all our gear, picked up our ski passes and made it to the lifts, the fresh stuff was just about all scraped off. Bummer. That’s what I get for a lazy morning. We were still on the mountain by 10:15, and we love the terrain at Mission Ridge no matter what the conditions but an hour earlier would have been better. Nonetheless, we ripped through the day, taking in as many turns as possible. We skied HARD and by 2 p.m. both of us were done. On our last run of the day, Nate fell three times in about five turns, and I figured it was definitely time to head back to the cabin. Besides, our puppy was waiting for us!

New Year's Day

That night, making New Year’s Day even BETTER, Ailey and Ritchie joined us. Time with family, especially family that you consider friends, is so special. We hit Mission Ridge again the next day, and Ritchie experienced his 2nd day ever on skis. He ROCKED! Half way through the day, we took him up Liberator (the high-elevation quad chair) and he made it down a whole series of blue runs… mostly upright The whole day was awesome, and it marked one hell of a way to kick off 2010. If the rest of the year keeps up like this, it’s gonna be a great year!

Mars and Ritchie - tearin' it up!

The Kaisers - Nate, Mars and Ailey

Views from the top

Mission Ridge

After-ski hair = awesome!

Marissa’s Po-Po (Chinese for the Maternal Grandmother) learns about DimSum…