Safe Travels

I always enjoyed traveling; be it backpacking alone through Europe or going on a scuba-trip with the hubby, I enjoy seeing different parts of the world, taste the culture, bask in the new environment and experience the change in atmosphere. However, like most travelers, one thing that affects most of my journey is cost. Due to the 5hour distance that my husband and I have to endure through our pregnancy, we had to be proactive with keeping the relationship strong. After all, this is our first baby and it would be unfair to Caleb if I did it all by myself (not that I could've anyways!) 

We started off the commuting with the conventional driving - Caleb came south on one weekend, I went north on the alternate weekend. This only went on for about a month because my work schedule changed and my days off were no longer during the weekends. At that point, I have to be the one going north all the time because I worked a 4-ten schedule and had three days off. The challenge with going north all the time was driving long distance while pregnant is not very safe. With that, we started looking into public transportation. Even though we lost the flexibility of being able to commute on our own schedule, the big benefit of public transportation is fuel-efficiency. Caleb's truck only gets 18+mpg and my car does 30mpg, and with wear and tear to the vehicle after commuting so much, it is more beneficial to commute via public transportation.

The Amtrak train is a very comfortable way to commute. And since Caleb had a 10% Boeing discount, it made it all the more enjoyable, knowing that I got a deal with each ride. It was a 3.5hour ride each way and the cabs are usually half filled, which means I get both seats to myself to spread-out to nap. I will also bring along my laptop for a movie or this is one of the opportunities I have to catch up on my baby-book readings. Below is a picture of the train in the Seattle King St. Station, promoting the King Tut exhibit, which I am very excited to bring my mother to experience when she comes to assist with the delivery.

I also get to enjoy some beautiful scenery along the way, since the train track runs along the Columbia river as it heads north.

Of course, I am only sharing with you the pretty pictures of the commute, but those of us that have used public transportation knows that there is more to it that the well-engineered vehicle and the pretty scenery. What goes on behind the scene is the in-between busing I had to take to make it to the transit centers.

These are the buses I took while benefiting from the "pregnancy priority seating"

The bolt bus was an alternate way I used in replace of the Amtrak train that was a lot more economical. It was a one-way express from Seattle from Portland. I rarely used this option because it doesn't stop at Vancouver and I had difficulty getting home from their Portland pit stop.

I took the Sounder Transit frequently from Lynnwood to Seattle in the mornings as Caleb drops me off on his way to work. This bus is usually filled with white collar workers that are commuting into Seattle for work. I was blessed to have always made it to my train on time since this is bus travels directly into Seattle.

This third bus I took (also a direct express bus) is the C-Tran that brings me from Portland into Vancouver directly. Similar to the Sounder transit, it helps commuters to avoid the heavy traffic that builds up around business hours.

After all that's said and done, I think I can say that not too many pregnant mothers have to "travel" as much as I did, but I am thankful for having a way to stay in touch with the hubby. Thank you Jesus for public transportation! Violet's gonna be a world traveler some day!

On going to do list

I enjoy ticking that "check box" when you get a task complete...just like crossing off an item from the grocery list when you've placed it in your cart. Getting the task done is the goal, but ticking that check box gives me a sense of accomplishment...it is finished! Otherwise, how else do you know if the task is completely done? Some people are more organized than I am, so they may have their to-do list in their head, but I tend to forget (especially with the pregnant brain, or with a husband who says "I will take care of it" and then forgets as well).

Similar to planning a wedding or a vacation to a new place, there's a laundry list of things to do prior to baby's arrival. I've been blessed to have a husband who is helpful (after I nag and nag and nag haha!!) his excuse is "I want to be a kid for as long as I can before the kid comes!" that leaves me as the only "adult" trying to shrink the to-do list. What makes it more difficult is that we are in the midst of moving, therefore, a lot of things are changing simultaneously. Here's what we have on-going now...

• Get life insurance quote
• Caleb get T-Dap vaccine (need to look for primary care provider)
• Interview pediatrician (need to research local pediatricians)
• Fill in Cord-Blood donation paper work
• Sign up for birthing classes (need to find one first!)
• Finalize baby-item list (loan from Holly and purchase the rest)
• Acquire hospital bag (since I am delivering at a birthing center)
• Purchase more pre-natal vitamins
• Find Chinese middle name for baby Violet/Annabel/Hailey...
• Submit maternity leave for work
• Figure out tax paper work changes from new addition to the family
• Move into new apartment (get nursery ready)
• Pregnancy photoshoot
• Discuss expectations with confinement lady (aka Mummy!)

This list is baby-specific...we have another personal to-do list that I don't know how to get them all done by October 16! Breathe, mama, breathe!!!

The lady who lived in her shoe

I've always wondered about the ol' nursery rhyme of the old grandma who lived her shoe. I don't really know what that is about, but if I had to make a guess, she probably spent so much money on shoes that the cost of all her shoes combined would equate to the cost of a house! This has never been and probably will never be my case; as much as I like to own pretty stuffs, I'm too practical. The shoes must serve a greater purpose than just being a fashion statement.

For the past two weeks, my weight gain has been rather tremendous. I started this pregnancy journey at about 106lbs and now at week 25, I am at a whopping 130+lbs! And I still have 15more weeks to go! I am definitely maintaining a healthy diet (except for the occasional craving for Shin Ramen!) so I know my weight gain is not in vain. However, I have never been this heavy in my life, so my poor feet is struggling to hold up such a big body! Therefore, I have been experiencing rather unpleasant soreness around my ankle and the sole of my feet. Since walking is the only form of "exercise" that I do while I'm pregnant, I can't let my aching feet be a hindrance from my one and only physical activity!

I spent several days visiting multiple stores to try to find the right shoes...this time, cost wasn't an issue! I am willing to invest in some good walking shoes, but alas, it is not easy to find the right pair~! I visited Payless Shoe store, Target, Ross, Sports Authority, REI and even Whole Foods (they carry Toms...). I was told how comfortable Toms are, but upon trying them on, I was not impressed. 

These were some candidates that I was considering... 

I ended up purchasing this instead...

Unfortunately, I did not like them because they rubbed against my toes and heel...I will be returning them soon...I begrudgingly bought these and will probably be using them as my walking shoes. I dislike the lack of appeal to the eyes, but I really appreciate the comfort it provides...

To help ease the sight for sore eyes, I rewarded myself with these....

(no they do not contain any raw fish in them!)

The Baby Gender Announcement!

Ladies and Gentlemen may we introduce to you our wonderful, beautiful, amazing, the very first 

Baby Girl Martin!!

We've known for a little over a month now, but have waited to announce it on the web because we needed to wait till after July 1st, when we announced it to the Webbs and Martin (that's the earliest date everyone was available to get together). We have announced to Malaysia via postcard ahead of time and everyone was thrilled to receive the surprise in the mail (thank God everyone received their mail!) 

We've been trying to find a good way to announce the gender of the baby, so after some research, we decided to play pinata as oppose to simply verbalizing the gender. Caleb and I enjoyed a sunny afternoon making the paper-mache in the sun as we got ourselves sticky with paste!

We made two balloons - one for the small group and another for the family. Each event was unique in its own way. With the small group, the news came out a little bit faster than expected when Andreea decided to rip open the pinata instead of hitting it. With the family, the pinata did not want to break so it took almost 10minutes until the confetti came out! Hopefully that does not symbolize how the baby will actually be born!

Here's the vote of the gender...I guess we know now who is right...

Yesterday was a really fun event - thanks to everyone for helping making it such a memorable day! 

Caleb, Heidi and Grandma Joan helping make the shish-kebabs

Holly made the beautiful watermelon basket

Dereck was grilling all the yummy food

Heidi taking the picture of everyone on the dinner table

After dinner, Caleb took hung the pinata and explained the rules. Everyone randomly drew a number and went in order from smallest to biggest number of who gets to hit the pinata. Each person gets 30seconds to find the pinata and make a hit - you can make multiple swings but you only get one go at the pinata. Since the pinata was so resilient, majority of the family had an opportunity to go at the pinata!