Baby Update

It seems that our little bundle of joy is trying to assert itself already! The baby has been in a breech position for months now. Despite all of my efforts to get it to turn (acupuncture, chiropractic, and trying all sorts of inverted stretching positions!) it seems to be quite comfortable the way it is. So, I have been scheduled for a c-section this Friday, June 26th. We will go to the hospital in the morning and they tell me I will likely have to stay 4 or 5 days depending on how things go. At this point we just want to have a healthy baby and we are getting anxious and excited now that we have a date!



The picture above is me at 38 weeks. My parents are here, so we will have plenty of help during the first couple of months. For that we are feeling very lucky! So, hopefully the next blog update will have good news and pictures of our little one.

My Growing Bump

I've had some requests to post belly pictures, so here you go! I'm 35 weeks today, which means there are only 5 weeks left until the wee one arrives. We are getting really excited and anxious to meet the baby. We moved to a new place last weekend, which we are loving so far. We are 2 minutes walking from the ocean and a beautiful walking promenade. We have more space now and the place definitely feels more like a home. I have started doing all of the baby laundry to try and get ready. It is a bit strange seeing tiny socks and "onesies" hanging to dry, but I guess we had better get used to that!



Up until about 2 weeks ago I was having an amazing pregnancy. But the little one has decided it's comfortable in the transverse position, meaning it's sort of sideways in the belly. Now I have a pinched nerve in my back and am waddling like a duck, but we are almost to the finish line!!!! I really can't complain because I have been very lucky so far with no major problems. My parents will arrive on June 12th and are staying for 2 1/2 months! It will be so nice to have them here and we will definitely bet putting them to work. ;)

Last Big Trip for a While

A couple of weeks ago I went on my last big trip before the baby comes. Marco and I had planned to spend about 10 days traveling in Germany and then visiting his sister and family in Switzerland. Unfortunately, due to visa complications, Marco wasn't able to go. Since we already had the tickets, I decided to go anyway and visit his sister Carol, her husband Christian, and the 2 kids Sedrik & Naira in Zurich for a few days.

It was such a treat to see the family, especially the kids! It gave me a chance to practice my basic Spanish skills because the kids don't speak English. Whew, my brain was tired! The kid's reaction to my bulging belly was so adorable. They were rubbing and touching it a lot and even put stuffed animals under their shirts to pretend they had babies inside! Too cute.



The weather was phenomenal....in the 70's and sunny. We went to the park almost every day, but otherwise just had a relaxing time. Carol was kind enough to get out all of her baby gear and I got to go "shopping". I picked out all of the gender neutral clothes (since we don't know the sex of the baby!) and got all sorts of gear and goodies. Our little bundle of joy has more than it can use at this point and we feel really good that we are "recycling" instead of buying everything new. Also, Marco's mom had sent a package of goodies for us from Peru. She had sewn special baby duvet covers for us and sent lots of clothes and goodies. But the sweetest thing was a blanket that she crocheted for Marco before he was born and he used it as a baby. She held onto it for more than 30 years so that Marco's first child could use it! So special. All in all, it was a great trip, but it would have been so much better if Uncle Marco had been able to go. The kids really missed him and so did I!!

So, no more international trips for the next few months. My parents are coming to Ireland on June 12th and will stay for about 2 1/2 months to help with the baby. We are all getting really excited. We got some other great news this week that Marco's brother, Carlo, just got engaged to his girlfriend, Katie!!!! They are planning to get married in Minnesota in October, so looks like baby will be making its first international trip at about 3 months old! Get 'em started young, right?? :o)

One Year of Wedded Bliss!

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since we got married, but on March 29th we celebrated our first anniversary. I guess so much has happened in that one year that it feels much longer than that. That's a good thing, by the way! As we reflected on all of the events we both realized what an incredible adventure it has been so far and we are so happy to be sharing this life together. Sorry to get mushy on you! Here's a brief summary of our year:

-both quit our jobs
-sold nearly everything we owned and packed the rest
-planned a wedding and got married
-moved to Ireland
-made 7 international trips
-made a baby :)

Ok, so to end this post on a less sentimental note, here's a funny story about our big anniversary celebration. So, we didn't do too much planning, but I was in the mood for a nice juicy steak. I went online and found an American style steakhouse here in Galway called Scotty's. I was envisioning Houston's or Ruth's Chris, you know, something romantic, dark and steak that just melts in your mouth. Both Marco and I tried not to fill up during the day in anticipation for the big meal. We were really looking forward to it. Then we walked in the front door to discover that it was more like a cross between Applebee's and a 50's diner! Anyway, we thought we would give it a chance since there were decent reviews online. I ordered the fillet mignon dinner and Marco got some other steak. The plates arrived and it looked like something you would get at a truck stop. We both took a few bites and decided it was about the caliber of hospital cafeteria food....not impressive at all, especially for 70 euros,!!! The good news is that we laughed and laughed about the whole experience and how much we had built up the anticipation. The best part is that despite the food disappointment we still had a great time. We had quite a good amount of leftovers, so the next day we made Philly cheese steaks for lunch and they were considerably better than the original meal. So much for our big first anniversary celebration! At least we could appreciate that being together was worth more than the meal. :)

Crossing the Border to Northern Ireland

Ever since we moved to Ireland I have wanted to do a road trip to visit Northern Ireland. We finally did it! St. Patrick's Day is a government holiday here so Marco had a long weekend and we decided to take advantage of it. It was totally a last minute decision, but well worth it. Luckily, we both love to travel without too many plans, just a rough idea of where we want to go. So we packed our maps and guide books, rented a car and headed off for a little adventure. This was only the 2nd time Marco had driven here on the left side, but after a few hours he was like an old pro! And I sat in the passenger seat as the official navigator of Irish roadsigns and confusing roundabouts.

We decided to head to the north-west side of the island and just see how far we could get the first afternoon. We passed through Sligo, but felt like we wanted to keep going. I had heard people talk about Donegal before, so we found it on the map and decided that was our destination for the night. Donegal Town was a few kilometers off the main road, but turned out to be a quaint little town. We arrived after dark, so couldn't see too much, but did a quick spin around the town to see what was there. We followed a sign to a B&B and checked in for the night. One of the guidebooks gave advice on good places to eat and had mentioned a little Italian place in town. So we walked the few blocks back to town and stumbled across that very place. The guide book was right, it was a delicious and reasonably priced Italian meal. We took a quick walk around the city and then headed back to the B&B for the night. The next morning we had our "Full Irish Breakfast" (eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, grilled tomatoes, etc) and hit the road.

We weren't sure how long it would take us to get places on this trip. In Ireland, the distance between places is not that far, but many of the roads are tiny, winding roads with lots of potholes so you can't actually go that fast. However, we were surprised at how quickly the trip went! Anyway, this day we were headed for the northern coastline. Now, one thing that many people don't know is that Northern Ireland is a separate country from The Republic of Ireland. We live in the Republic. Northern Ireland is part of the UK under the British. Technically, Marco needs a visa to travel anywhere in Europe outside of The Republic of Ireland. Several people had told us that there really aren't borders between the two, so we decided to take a chance and go. Funny enough, we were driving along a highway somewhere around Derry, not paying attention, and suddenly realized we had crossed the "border". We noticed that road signs had changed and all of a sudden things looked a little bit nicer and that was it....we were in Northern Ireland. Easiest international border crossing in history!

We wound our way around some of the most beautiful coastline we had ever seen. We had fairly good weather the whole trip, although it was quite windy and cold. Good weather here means no rain. We stopped for a few minutes in a cute coastal town called Portrush. We got out and took a few pictures, but the wind was so strong that we got back in the car. We decided that we needed to get some local currency for the trip (they use pounds, we use euros) so we went in search of an ATM. We walked through some more gale force winds (literally!), got our money and hit the road again.

Our next stop was the medieval Dunluce Castle. It was originally built around 1200 and is set right on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It's mostly just stone walls now, but you can really imagine what life must have been like back then. It had the most spectacular views, but again we had to deal with gale force winds! There was one spot where you could barely stand up because the wind was so strong. We got a few good laughs at that point, especially about what the wind did to my hair. One of the interesting stories about the castle is that at some point in history, the kitchen literally fell off the cliffs, taking a few of the house servants along with it. After walking around the grounds, we stopped into the little tea house and had a nice hot cup of tea to warm up.

We then hit the road for our next destination. The Giant's Causeway is a World Heritage Site and was one of the places I wanted to visit most on this trip. It is a natural wonder that was formed by a volcanic eruption that created stones/pillars mostly in hexagonal shapes. We parked at the top of the hill and walked about 10 minutes down to the main site. It really is hard to believe that this place was naturally formed because some of the rocks look so perfect. There were large formations that you could walk across, and others that sort of jutted out the side of the cliffs. It was truly amazing! We spent about an hour walking along the trails to see all of the formations and then headed back. The hike back was a bit more challenging than the walk down! If I remember correctly, it was all uphill and included something like 162 stair-steps. Normally this wouldn't be so difficult, but everything is harder when you are pregnant! Needless to say, we got some good exercise that day. We stopped in a nearby town for lunch and then headed off for our next destination....Belfast.



We decided to take the scenic route for some more beautiful coastal views. Of course we saw plenty of farms, sheep and cows along the way. :) We arrived in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland sometime late afternoon. We had no idea where we were going to stay, so we drove around the downtown area a bit to explore. We stopped in a couple of places that were either full or way too expensive. We turned down a little residential street and stumbled across the cutest little B&B just a few blocks from the main road. They had nice rooms for a great price, so we checked in for the night. We rested up a bit and browsed through the guidebooks to plan our activities. We got all cleaned up and headed out to explore the downtown area after dark. It was dinner time, so we set out to find a good place to eat. We both love ethnic food, so trips to the big city usually mean we look for a good ethnic restaurant, as the options are usually better. We walked and walked and couldn't find anything interesting. Finally, as we were about to give up, we stumbled across a Lebanese place....one of our favorite types of food! Although the meal wasn't everything we had dreamed of, it certainly wasn't bad and we were grateful for that. We walked around a bit more and then headed back to the B&B for the night.

After another Full Irish Breakfast, our host recommended we take a Black Taxi Tour to explore the political history of Belfast. For many years this was a place of violent political unrest. Essentially, there was a group claiming to represent Nationalists (predominantly Catholic) and a group claiming to represent Unionists (predominantly Protestant). The Nationalists consider themselves Irish and wanted Northern Ireland to be politically united with the rest of Ireland, while the Unionists consider themselves British and wanted to remain part of the UK. Paramilitary groups formed to fight against the British and there were many decades of brutal violence. The city was separated into Catholic and Protestant sides to try and control some of the violence. Although most of the violence has ceased since an agreement was signed in 1998, there still remains a separatist approach to life in Belfast. There is still a huge wall between the Catholic side and Protestant side of the city. You drive down the Catholic side and the curbs are painted orange, white and green for the colors of the Irish flag. On the protestant side the curbs are red, white and blue. Houses that are near the wall have wire cages built around the patios and windows in case people from the other side throw bricks over. There are large murals painted on the sides of buildings that depict what some people view as heroes of the struggle, while the other side would view them as murderers. Our taxi driver, Pat, gave us some very interesting insight into the history of the struggle and where things stand today. It was a fascinating experience and I would highly recommend it if you are ever in Belfast.

There are lots of other things you can do in Belfast, but not many of them appealed to us. The only museum we wanted to visit was closed for remodeling, so we decided to hit the road and get out of the big city. While flipping through the guidebooks, we stumbled across a place called Newgrange that looked quite interesting, so we headed that direction. Newgrange is a prehistoric tomb that was built around 3000 BC, which makes it about 500 years older than the great Pyramids in Egypt!!! From the outside it looks like a big mound built into the ground, but inside it contains a chamber with intricately carved stones that was likely used for ceremonial burials. The entrance passage was built with precise solar alignment so that only once a year, at dawn on the day of winter solstice, the sun shines through and lights the chamber for a few minutes. Although the site itself is in the middle of nowhere and rather small, it is well worth seeing.

After leaving Newgrange we thought we would find some cute farmhouse B&B and spend a relaxing evening there. We drove and drove and couldn't find anything that looked good. We decided to just keep driving in the direction of Galway and thought we would find something along the way. Marco had fun driving those little back country roads all the way! There was one stretch of road where we would see a speed limit sign that said 100 km/hr, and then 20 yards later there would be a "Dangerous Curves" sign. This went on for hours and we just laughed about how ridiculous that seemed. We did see some people going nearly that fast on those tiny little roads, but luckily we made it safely. We stopped in a town called Mullingar for dinner and decided to see if there were any cute places to stay. We were not inspired by anything, so we had dinner and decided just to push through and drive home. We arrived about 10:30pm and went straight to bed! All in all, it was a great weekend trip and we can now check some more places off of our "list".

Laptop Thief is a "Menace to Society"

I was reading the local paper over the weekend to stumble across an article about our friend, the laptop thief! Looks like he finally got his day in court and was sentenced to 20 months in prison and a 100 euro fine. It seems that he is a 28 year old local guy with a serious drinking and drug problem. The real shocker is that he had over 40 previous convictions!!! The judge was quoted as saying, "he is a menace to this whole society." Looks like he was due for a nice stay in a government sponsored facility. We also feel very lucky because we got our laptop back. Some of the other victims were not so lucky and a group of students were reported to have lost all of their thesis work....so sad.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

So, the headline in the local paper today said that we are experiencing the coldest winter in Ireland in the last 18 years. It's been in the 30's this week, but feels like it's in the 20's. I heard in Dublin they had enough snow to cancel flights today, which is very unusual. We haven't had any snow that stuck, so I guess we're lucky! The crazy part is that this past summer everyone said that it was the worst/wettest summer in recent memory. So, I have to ask the question.....why is this all happening the year that we move to Galway?? For a Southern California girl, it is really testing me. :o)

Next week Marco has to attend some big conference for work in Cork, which is a couple of hours south of Galway. We have another friend that is going down to see her boyfriend, so I decided to ride along and see a different part of the country next weekend. To be honest, I'm not really sure what there is to do in Cork, but it should be fun to do a little road trip!

I'm now 19 weeks pregnant and am really starting to feel the baby move around! Maybe it's swimming or doing salsa dancing or has the hiccups. It's fun to imagine what is happening in there. This morning was the first time that Marco could actually feel the baby move, and that was pretty exciting. I'm still feeling good and can't believe we are almost halfway there....yikes.