We are so thankful to God for this miracle. More details to come. Clarice's father has posted many more pictures at www.timothy.smugmug.com that we hope you will enjoy. :)
Ian and Clarice
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The Eagle Has Landed...
...as Granda PapaJohn says.
We are so thankful to God for this miracle. More details to come. Clarice's father has posted many more pictures at www.timothy.smugmug.com that we hope you will enjoy. :)
Ian and Clarice
We are so thankful to God for this miracle. More details to come. Clarice's father has posted many more pictures at www.timothy.smugmug.com that we hope you will enjoy. :)
Ian and Clarice
Monday, February 20, 2006
When snoring is a good thing
WARNING: contains content that may be offensive to snorers or the spouses of snorers.
Never thought I would think snoring was a good thing. It's a rather unpleasant disturbance that has recently tainted our marriage. A few months ago, when Ian started snoring, I was annoyed at the idea that my beauty sleep was being interrupted on a regular basis after months of peace. Then shortly thereafter, I found out that I was starting to snore as well. I was rather dismayed at the prospect that I might be joining him in the ranks of adult-onset snorers. Well, I've since reckoned with the idea that I now snore. For the time being, I don't mind so much. See, I've been reading that it's not good for pregnant women to sleep on their backs. Apparently the weight of the baby on the aorta can cut off circulation. I'm pretty convinced that we don't want that to happen. So it's really good news that I snore now because it only happens when I sleep on my back. And the best thing (huh?!?) is that when I snore, I manage to do so loud enough to wake myself up. So this snoring is simply a preventive measure. I roll on my back in my sleep. I start to snore. I wake myself up. I realize I'm cutting off circulation to my limbs and my child. I turn on my side. Disaster averted. And it's not such a bad thing when Ian's snoring wakes me up these days. It usually happens at just about the time I should be taking a middle-of-the-night potty break. I just hope that this snoring thing is a temporary thing for me. It's starting to get louder now. Last night, Mr Sleeps-like-a-rock woke up to tell me to turn over. We don't need this taking-turns-waking-each-other-up-with-snoring business to be a regular part of our sleeping lives. We've already been warned about the impact that infants have on sleep. Don't need to have snoring worsen that. But for now, it's a good thing.
Clarice
Never thought I would think snoring was a good thing. It's a rather unpleasant disturbance that has recently tainted our marriage. A few months ago, when Ian started snoring, I was annoyed at the idea that my beauty sleep was being interrupted on a regular basis after months of peace. Then shortly thereafter, I found out that I was starting to snore as well. I was rather dismayed at the prospect that I might be joining him in the ranks of adult-onset snorers. Well, I've since reckoned with the idea that I now snore. For the time being, I don't mind so much. See, I've been reading that it's not good for pregnant women to sleep on their backs. Apparently the weight of the baby on the aorta can cut off circulation. I'm pretty convinced that we don't want that to happen. So it's really good news that I snore now because it only happens when I sleep on my back. And the best thing (huh?!?) is that when I snore, I manage to do so loud enough to wake myself up. So this snoring is simply a preventive measure. I roll on my back in my sleep. I start to snore. I wake myself up. I realize I'm cutting off circulation to my limbs and my child. I turn on my side. Disaster averted. And it's not such a bad thing when Ian's snoring wakes me up these days. It usually happens at just about the time I should be taking a middle-of-the-night potty break. I just hope that this snoring thing is a temporary thing for me. It's starting to get louder now. Last night, Mr Sleeps-like-a-rock woke up to tell me to turn over. We don't need this taking-turns-waking-each-other-up-with-snoring business to be a regular part of our sleeping lives. We've already been warned about the impact that infants have on sleep. Don't need to have snoring worsen that. But for now, it's a good thing.
Clarice
Oooo! He's just a teeny little guy!
That's what the midwife said a few weeks ago when she palpated my belly. And then last week, I saw another midwife, who said, "Well, you've got a compact little fellow in there." To confirm that, the ultrasound technician estimated Juancho's weight to be about 5.5 pounds 2 weeks ago. So with 3 more weeks to go, I'm guessing that my little guy will be more like Olivia than Peanut. I'm going to estimate that he comes in at around 7 pounds, but long.
It's probably no surprise that the professionals think Juancho's small. Ian and I are both metabolically blessed. We're figuring this kid will end up being tall and skinny also. Perhaps the most surprising thing in the above paragraph is the mention of the word midwife. Yep, I'm actually considering a natural childbirth. For people who know me, this is probably a laughable idea. I'm really not big into pain...or exertion for that matter. Never really exercised much because of the whole "sweat" factor. My biggest fitness goal was about 2 years ago. My old roommate started training for a marathon. In support of her effort, I set my own goal - by the time she could run 10 miles, I would make it a goal to run a mile. It took me a month to get there (did you know it hurts your muscles to run?), but I can now say that I did it...once (thanks Cal and Mish!).
In the past, whenever I entertained the idea of bearing a child, I was fairly convinced that I would go the whole medicated route. Just put in the drugs and away we go. I think I even nursed the idea of an elective C-section just to avoid the pain. But now that I'm here, I'm thinking I'd like to at least try to do it the way women have done it for thousands of years. You can blame it on some of the tough chicks I know who have told me their beautiful birthing stories. My friend Lilia, who has the mental toughness and sacrificial attitude to put her dreams aside for her family. My friend Kathy, who had 3 boys naturally while building a pediatric dental/orthodontic practice from scratch (the third son was born at home!). And my sister-in-law Becky, who pushed through a Chemical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech even though she knew she would be serving in missions after graduating, then pushed through the birth of my human nephews and niece. I figure if these gals can do it.... I may be physically weak, but I have the stuff to be mentally tough.... I think. Plus, my dad's a clinical psychologist and is trained in hypnosis. Maybe he can help. And.... Juancho's looking to be a little one. If not, I DID check with the midwives in case I wimp out. They said I could change my mind at (almost) any time and ask for the drugs. Any advice, those of you who have been there?
Clarice
It's probably no surprise that the professionals think Juancho's small. Ian and I are both metabolically blessed. We're figuring this kid will end up being tall and skinny also. Perhaps the most surprising thing in the above paragraph is the mention of the word midwife. Yep, I'm actually considering a natural childbirth. For people who know me, this is probably a laughable idea. I'm really not big into pain...or exertion for that matter. Never really exercised much because of the whole "sweat" factor. My biggest fitness goal was about 2 years ago. My old roommate started training for a marathon. In support of her effort, I set my own goal - by the time she could run 10 miles, I would make it a goal to run a mile. It took me a month to get there (did you know it hurts your muscles to run?), but I can now say that I did it...once (thanks Cal and Mish!).
In the past, whenever I entertained the idea of bearing a child, I was fairly convinced that I would go the whole medicated route. Just put in the drugs and away we go. I think I even nursed the idea of an elective C-section just to avoid the pain. But now that I'm here, I'm thinking I'd like to at least try to do it the way women have done it for thousands of years. You can blame it on some of the tough chicks I know who have told me their beautiful birthing stories. My friend Lilia, who has the mental toughness and sacrificial attitude to put her dreams aside for her family. My friend Kathy, who had 3 boys naturally while building a pediatric dental/orthodontic practice from scratch (the third son was born at home!). And my sister-in-law Becky, who pushed through a Chemical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech even though she knew she would be serving in missions after graduating, then pushed through the birth of my human nephews and niece. I figure if these gals can do it.... I may be physically weak, but I have the stuff to be mentally tough.... I think. Plus, my dad's a clinical psychologist and is trained in hypnosis. Maybe he can help. And.... Juancho's looking to be a little one. If not, I DID check with the midwives in case I wimp out. They said I could change my mind at (almost) any time and ask for the drugs. Any advice, those of you who have been there?
Clarice
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
People who like kids...
...ought to check out my cousin Daphne's latest blog entry. Ian and I laughed out loud as we were reading. Out of the mouths of babes, indeed!!
Clarice
Clarice
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
We Have TV!!!
You know that saying about how necessity is the mother of all invention, or something like that? We saw (once again) the truth of this concept on Monday. When we moved in here almost a year ago, we had taken to heart the recommendations of several couples who had suggested drastically reducing TV consumption during the first year of marriage. I know of some couples who didn't even own TVs for their first years of married life (until the need to play unceasing Baby Einstein and that show about the Blue Dog became necessary). So we pledged not to get cable TV. Plus, finances were tight and my brother and sister-and-law gave us a year's subscription to Netflix that we figured would keep us busy. We thought we'd just survive with network TV. Besides, there were at least 2 coaxial cable ends lying around in each room of our home. Surely at least one of them would give us rudimentary reception. We picked our corner for the TV and had a choice of 2 different cables to hook up. We picked the closer one. It was rather disappointing. We only got reception on 3 channels - 9, 11, and 13. And they were very snowy. But, no matter, this was our first year of marriage and we didn't need TV. So for the past 11 months, we've watched a total of maybe 20 hours of TV at home. Funny thing is, that total has probably been exceeded by the number of TV hours consumed at my parents' place - they have digital cable and something like a gazillion channels to browse. Last weekend I started thinking about the fact that I will soon be home for 3 months, with nothing but an infant for entertainment during the day. And the Olympics are starting soon. And our first year of marriage is coming to an end. I started thinking about this cable that leaves the roof of our duplex, where a large antenna protrudes, and enters a hole in the wall that roughly approximates the point in our living room where the cable that we didn't pick a year ago sits idly. So I asked Ian to see what would happen if we replaced the cable now hooked to our TV with that one (um...not because I couldn't do it myself, technically, but because my large belly prevents me from climbing behind the television). Well, he plugged it in and...voila...we have TV! You won't believe how giddy we were about being able to watch...um...what do people watch on TV these days? Is Friends still on? At least we'll be able to watch the episodes of E-Ring written by that guy who plays James Clown and Officer Bukatowski of Bad Guys of the Bible.
Clarice
Clarice
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Retired
Today during the music worship set at church I was not on stage playing with the band. I got to stand with the rest of the Mosaic community. It was rather bittersweet. I loved having my voice rise up intermingled with the voices of others around me. But at the same time, I've been playing rather consistently for the past few months and I don't know when I'll be playing again. Really, up until last fall, I hadn't played for a long time, but that was my choice. Now with Junior coming, I realize that it might be difficult to do this again regularly for a while. I think I'll miss it a lot.
When my pregnancy started advancing, I was quite insistent on wanting to play at least once during my third trimester. So I wouldn't be just the tall Asian woman playing the bass, I was the tall pregnant Asian woman playing the bass. OK, I admit it, I have occasional "look-at-me" moments. As an aside, I'm not sure how this is going to affect my little boy. If there's a "look-at-me" gene, and I've proven to express a mild form of it, what'll happen when daddy Ian's genes get thrown in?
Back closer to the original subject - pregnant ladies playing the bass. People have commented on how Junior will probably have good rhythm since my bass gets pressed right up against where his head is when I play. I really think Junior may be growing to like music. Usually in the first few minutes of playing, he'll move around really vigorously. Then he'll settle down into a slow groove of dancing around in his watery home. At least, I assume it's dancing...or at least a happy type of movement. At this point I really don't know what kind of movement is happy movement and what kind is unhappy. But I will choose to be optimistic and believe I'm inspiring...or at least indoctrinating...a future musician. I actually wouldn't mind raising a drummer or bass player. I doubt Ian will have any problem with the noise either. So if I don't get to play for Mosaic much anymore, I can look forward to jamming with my son. That'll be worth it!
Clarice
When my pregnancy started advancing, I was quite insistent on wanting to play at least once during my third trimester. So I wouldn't be just the tall Asian woman playing the bass, I was the tall pregnant Asian woman playing the bass. OK, I admit it, I have occasional "look-at-me" moments. As an aside, I'm not sure how this is going to affect my little boy. If there's a "look-at-me" gene, and I've proven to express a mild form of it, what'll happen when daddy Ian's genes get thrown in?
Back closer to the original subject - pregnant ladies playing the bass. People have commented on how Junior will probably have good rhythm since my bass gets pressed right up against where his head is when I play. I really think Junior may be growing to like music. Usually in the first few minutes of playing, he'll move around really vigorously. Then he'll settle down into a slow groove of dancing around in his watery home. At least, I assume it's dancing...or at least a happy type of movement. At this point I really don't know what kind of movement is happy movement and what kind is unhappy. But I will choose to be optimistic and believe I'm inspiring...or at least indoctrinating...a future musician. I actually wouldn't mind raising a drummer or bass player. I doubt Ian will have any problem with the noise either. So if I don't get to play for Mosaic much anymore, I can look forward to jamming with my son. That'll be worth it!
Clarice
Friday, February 03, 2006
Double Standard?
I'm disturbed today. Something strange in the way our world reacts to things. So Rolling Stone puts Kanye West on the cover with a crown of thorns on his head accompanied by a story entitled "The Passion of Kanye West." The National Endowment for the Arts funds an art piece called "Piss Christ," which depicts a crucifix immersed in urine and another piece with a portrait of the Virgin Mary covered in cow dung. More? The now-cancelled series "The Book of Daniel," in which Jesus apparently (cause I never saw the show) appears as a bohemian-type self-esteem booster. All touted by the media as being courageous and bold. Any whimper of protest from Christians is shot down as a violation of freedom of speech.
So a Danish newspaper commissions some cartoons of the prophet Mohammed because a children's book wanted illustrations for a book (CORRECTION: because it wanted to test what editor-in-chief Carsten Juste described as "an article of self-censorship which rules large parts of the Western world"). They publish the cartoons, other newspapers follow suit in support of freedom of speech, and pockets of the Muslim world erupt in protest condemning the newpaper, threatening violence and beheadings. Alternative media attempts to support freedom of speech (see Michelle Malkin's blog for a roundup). But mainstream media? Nope. CNN, NBC, ABC, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, etc all pass in an attempt to be sensitive to the Muslims out of respect for Islam, which doesn't allow images of Mohammed to be made (somewhere, could it be the Ten Commandments, I remember reading something about prohibitions about graven images of God also).
I don't know if there's complete equivalence of the situations. I don't know if I agree that the best way to support freedom of speech is to continue publishing the cartoons, which futher inflames the radical Muslims. But doesn't it seem strange that the same media that denigrates Christ, is so sensitive about Mohammed?
Clarice
So a Danish newspaper commissions some cartoons of the prophet Mohammed because a children's book wanted illustrations for a book (CORRECTION: because it wanted to test what editor-in-chief Carsten Juste described as "an article of self-censorship which rules large parts of the Western world"). They publish the cartoons, other newspapers follow suit in support of freedom of speech, and pockets of the Muslim world erupt in protest condemning the newpaper, threatening violence and beheadings. Alternative media attempts to support freedom of speech (see Michelle Malkin's blog for a roundup). But mainstream media? Nope. CNN, NBC, ABC, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, etc all pass in an attempt to be sensitive to the Muslims out of respect for Islam, which doesn't allow images of Mohammed to be made (somewhere, could it be the Ten Commandments, I remember reading something about prohibitions about graven images of God also).
I don't know if there's complete equivalence of the situations. I don't know if I agree that the best way to support freedom of speech is to continue publishing the cartoons, which futher inflames the radical Muslims. But doesn't it seem strange that the same media that denigrates Christ, is so sensitive about Mohammed?
Clarice
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