A light at the end of the tunnel (updated)

The house will be ready tomorrow.

Oh, that felt so good!! What a beautiful sounding sentence!

Anyway, I finally convinced Zé Maria that it would be better to hire one of those specialized companies to come clean our house before we move back in. I have asthma and I'm pregnant and I really don't think I could stand cleaning all that dust. And besides, they bring all those fancy machines and cleaning products I don't have and refuse to buy.
So yesterday they came to take a look at the house, see what it is exactly that we want done, and they'll call me later today to tell me how much this will cost us.

While the man was looking at the house, Zé Maria got excited and ended up asking them to wash all the carpets, all the windows, to empty and wash all the kitchen cabinets and the closets, to wash all the dishes and appliances, to hoover the mattresses and sofas and to wash the balcony. It will take them 2 to 3 days to do everything (but since we will be at the beach house anyway, it won't delay our moving back in). I don't think our house was ever as clean as it will be when we get back... and honestly, I love it.
Now let's see just how much this will cost us.

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Why is it that good news never last?
Our architect just called to say the plumber didn't show up today so the house will probably only be ready on Saturday. I know it's only one day and we weren't even planning on moving in yet, but it still stresses me out. I could cry right now.

We're back, but we're not home yet.

We’re back! We had a great time and I wish we could’ve stayed there for another week, or even another month.
R behaved surprisingly well on the plane, she loved eating from the little tray and looking out the windows and running down the aisle to go “visit” my parents in first class. The flight attendants were not so happy about it but all in all, in went very well.
When we got to Porto Seguro, which is a really small town and has a really small airport, R turned to me looking appalled and said “Mom, this is not Brazil, it’s a garage!”

So in summary, we slept a lot, we ate a lot, we went to the beach, we read much less than we usually do when we travel without R (and yes, I was able to get Harry Potter before we left, but I’m sad to say I haven’t finished it yet) and we did lots of shopping. I even had a full body massage which was simply divine. Exactly the kind of vacation I needed.
Surprisingly, I didn’t gain any weight, although my belly is significantly bigger now. My feet are starting to swell by the end of the day and my back is starting to hurt. I’ll have to take it easy now that I’m entering the third trimester.

The house is almost ready and they say it will be all done by Friday (that’s 1 week later than initially planned, not so bad). On Saturday, however, we will move to the beach house and we’ll be coming to Lisbon to work every day next week so that R can go to the beach with my SILs, and then we’ll be on vacation again starting August 8th. Which means we will only move back home by the 15th.
I miss my house more than I can say and I never thought we would be away for 5 weeks. I feel like I have been camping at my parents’ house for ages and I can’t wait to go back to my home and to start getting things ready for this baby. This situation is really taking its toll on me.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our week in Brazil. Enjoy.

My Mom, R and I


R posing for the picture


Down town Porto Seguro


They say this is good for your skin


Riding a horse on the beach



We went to an Indian reserve, and R was very impressed


Nice parrot

See you soon

We are leaving tomorrow morning. The weather should be very nice in Brazil and we'll spend a whole week lying on the beach doing nothing. I've promised myself I will not think about the surgery, or the preparations for the baby, or the remodeling of the bathrooms (which is running kinda late, might I add, so we may have to go back to my parents' house once we get back from Brazil... but I will NOT think about that while I'm on vacation).

I will most likely not be able to update this blog for a week but I promise to post tons of pictures when I come back. Have a great week everyone.

How do you hide a pregnant belly?

We may have a problem. Apparently, the company we are travelling with to Brazil has been requesting that visibly pregnant women have a written consent from their doctor saying that they can fly. This used to be their policy only for women in their third trimester but it now seems that as soon as you start showing they ask for it, just in case you’re lying about how far along you are.
I didn’t ask my doctor for a written consent in my last appointment; although I did tell her I was travelling and she did say it was fine. Now she’s on vacation and it seems no other doctor will accept that responsibility, not even a friend of mine’s wife. I did eventually convince my sister in law, who’s a dentist, to write me one and just say she’s a doctor, omitting the fact that she’s a dentist. She can’t, however, omit the fact that we share the same last name, so I’m hoping the airline won’t give me a hard time about it.

Anyway, just in case, last night I tried on all of my mom’s clothes trying to find which outfit will better disguise my belly, without making me look like I’m wearing a tent. We’ve finally decided on a tunic which I’ll wear over my jeans. It does make my belly look significantly smaller but it is still there. So I’ll have to rely on SIL’s consent as a back-up plan.

Only two more days before we leave.

24 weeks belly shots

I don't have much to write about so here are two pictures of my sister and I at 23 and 24 weeks pregnant, respectively. I know she is looking much better than I am but this is my second child so give me a break ok?
By the way, I'm the one on the right.

Getting ready to go on a much needed vacation

We had a really nice, relaxing weekend. On Saturday we went to the beach and then we rented a movie (Million Dollar Baby – good but not as good as I expected it to be) and watched it after dinner. Then on Sunday we spent the day at my in-laws.
The remodelling is going as planned and I think there’s a pretty good chance it will be done by the time we come back from Brazil. And we’re actually doing well at my parents and they’re doing the best to make us as comfortable as possible.

R has been acting kinda strange lately and I’m pretty sure it’s because of the baby. She’s always asking about Mommy and Daddy when we’re not around, she cries when we drop her off at school (which she loves), she wants me to sleep with her and she’s always asking me if she’s my baby. I’m glad we’ll be on vacation on Saturday and we’ll be able to spend lots of time with her and reassure her that everything is okay.

We’re leaving for Brazil on Saturday and this will be the first time R flies. I’m dreading this trip! Any tips on how to make it go smoothly?

Angry

Today is sad day. I don't really know what to say, except that I'm angry.

Tell me again, why did we decide to do this now?

Our house is a total wreck already. In two days the men have totally destroyed both bathrooms, tore down walls and have just started putting them up again. One of the bathrooms had a door leading into the kitchen, which will be closed and a new door leading into the hallway will be opened. The other bathroom was so small it actually had no bath (just the toilet and sink), so the wall connecting to one of the rooms was brought down and the bathroom will become bigger (at the expense of said room, obviously) and will have a standing shower. I’m hoping the 3 weeks will be enough!

R is doing surprisingly well with us moving in with my parents. She’s getting plenty of attention from everyone (more than she should, if you ask me) and she’s actually finding this arrangement quite fun. We’ve been able to keep her usual schedule, which is good for everyone, and I don’t think she actually misses our house yet.

I realized I forgot to update after Zé Maria’s meeting with the surgeon (this is actually a good sign). The surgery has been scheduled for the last week of September, which means I will be 36 weeks along and since he has to stay in the hospital for 5 days I will be nearly 37 weeks along by the time he comes home. Since I will mostly likely have a scheduled c-section, this baby will be born no later than 38/39 weeks so, as you can see, we’re on a pretty tight schedule here.
Even if it does work out and the surgery doesn’t get postponed (ha, ha, ha), chances are we will both be recovering from major abdominal surgery and having to take care of a newborn and a toddler. That will fun!
Anyway, at first I was pretty stressed out with this news, since I expected the surgery to be in late August/ early September. But I have decided that this surgery will not be postponed because of me and I will just have to trust that everything will work out in the end.

Home sick

We moved into my parents’ house yesterday and this morning 5 men started working at our house.


I never thought it would be so hard for me to move out of my house and in with my parents. I mean, I had a great childhood and youth, I love my parents and I actually had a hard time moving out when I got married. Those first few weeks/months after the wedding were hard for me because I had no desire to leave my parents’ house if it wasn’t to get married to the man I loved. Not that usual for a twenty-one year old who always lived with her parents is it? Usually girls that age can’t wait to have their own house. I didn’t.

But now, 4 years later, having to move back in for only 3 weeks really depressed me. I love my house, I enjoy my time alone with my daughter and my husband so much. Last night as we were going to bed I almost felt like crying. I know it sounds ridiculous and I can always pin it on the pregnancy hormones. But the fact is I really, really wanted to be in my house, in my bed.
My parents’ house has gotten so cluttered. I wonder if it was always like that and I just never noticed. My husband is the neatest, most organized man I have ever known. Our house is always almost excessively tidy and clean. And I realize I learned that from him, I just never realized how much it had become a part of who I am. And I’m seriously bothered by the untidiness of my parents’ house now (not that they are unusually untidy, it’s us that are unusually tidy) and it makes me want to go back home even more.

I guess missing one’s home and the intimacy with one’s husband and family is a good thing right? My friends all say I’m lucky to be with my parents’ for awhile because they’ll help out with R and I’ll get some rest before the craziness begins (the surgery, the baby, etc). But I just want these 3 weeks to fly by (really, really praying it doesn’t turn out to be more) so I can go back home. Am I weird?