See, I Really Am Pregnant!

On Saturday, Anthony took me for a nice afternoon out in the CBD (city/downtown). Since it's a living/working city, it's jammed back at all hours of the day and week. Unlike some downtowns that you may be use to where it's dead during the weekend because there's nobody "working." Now if I haven't mentioned the CBD before, there's no such thing as free parking and unless you're willing to dish out $15+ to park in a parking garage, all the other parking are street side parallel metered parking. So this was a true testament to Anthony's determination to have a nice lunch and walk around the city for me. We drove around for about 45 minutes trying to find parking and fight traffic (both cars, bikes, and lots and lots of pedestrians).

That's about 40 minutes longer than Anthony normally would have put up with stop and go or crawling traffic. Or threatening to run over people. We ended up just pulling into a garage that's was a little walk away but wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg, which was fine, more strolling for us. The day was a chilly breezy 50 degrees or so with the sun peaking out every so often. We merged in with the rest of the massive walking crowd and headed towards Chinatown. Why? Because I've been craving dumplings and Anthony remembered me mentioning it. So we headed to the Camy Shanghai Dumpling House!

Melbourne is known for tucking away wonderful restaurants down these little alleyways that you just know must be super scary at night. They're narrow, dark, and dingy. The kind that you see in movies where the innocent good guys always walk down while they're constantly looking over their shoulder, only to be blocked in by nasty looking tough bad guys. So yeah, the restaurant was down one of these alleys but fortunately it was during the day. And of course it helped that this place was packed! Upstairs and downstairs. I'm "borrowing" some of these pictures from Urban Spoon:






















Sign from the alley.

Front door.

Picture of the downstairs inside as soon as you walk in the door. There's more seating to the right, which is where we sat.


It's a real simple, no frills interior with self service hot tea dispenser (with plastic cups) and ginger/soy sauce dipping sauce. There's no such thing as service with a smile here and don't expect them to go above and beyond. If they can't reach you, you're expected to take the dish from their hands. Neither of us has been here before but we've heard and read about it quite often.

The price was quite reasonable, especially compared to the rest of Melbourne. Anthony tried their salted fish with rice which came heavily coated in diced garlic. Fortunately we like garlic. And I, of course had to try their dumplings! Since it was cold today and my need to stay hydrated for the bubzi, I tried their Dumpling in Soup, which appears to have been pork dumplings.

It hit the spot! And I think it came out to maybe $15 for the both of us. Now that's cheap eating in Melbourne! It's cash only, which meant we had to send Anthony for an ATM trip while I had waited for a seat. I noticed they had a sign above the cashier about frozen items so I think they sell their dumplings in frozen packs. Anthony promises to swing by some day to pick me up some. I didn't buy any that day as we weren't sure how long we'd be out and about and I'd rather not carry it while it melted.

Of course, I have been also craving a bubble tea and since we're in Chinatown, naturally I had to get a bubble tea. Cold weather be damned! So with a full content tummy and bubble tea in hand, we headed back out towards the city. We headed towards Bourke Street which has a shopping area that is blocked off to cars. As we approached there we passed by Bread Top and I couldn't resist NOT stopping in and of course that resulted in me having to make some lovely sweet Chinese bakery purchases. Pineapple Bun and Egg Tarts were on my must have list! I think I bought about 6 items there, which were all happily and greedily consumed by breakfast the next morning!

Anthony wanted to show me the Food Hall at David Jones (large department store) so we headed downstairs to their Food Hall. Now this Food Hall isn't like your typical mall food court, it's MUCH more lavish and fancy. The food stands are full kitchen prep areas with a selling counter. There's one for a butcher, seafood, cookies (yes, it's nothing BUT cookies), bakery, confectionaries (nothing but candy), sushi bar, sandwich/pasta, couple coffee places, juice bar, books, and a little grocery area. The grocery area is where we stumbled upon a section of American products!!!

Yes, Pop Tarts and that box cost about $13.00!

But you know what I was truly happy about?? It was the can of French Onions that go in the Green Bean Casseroles and the can of pumpkin pie!! Now I can make those for Thanksgiving!!!!

Only these couple of shelves of US products. Sadly they are about 5-10 times the cost of it!


Oh and we found green pepper tabasco sauce! Granted it was about $6 but we actually mourned the last drop we got out of the bottle my sister had shipped us. We seriously thought that would be the last time we would be tasting it until we get back to the States. Needless to say, it made Anthony a very happy camper.

Okay, so you may still be wondering what all this has to do with the title of this blog. Well, since we hadn't sent out any pictures of me pregnant, this will be the first picture evidence!

Yup, 5 months and 2 weeks pregnant!!

Anthony thought I was nutz when I popped outside without a jacket and handed him the camera. It was a cold and breezy 50 degrees and here I was in short sleeves asking him to take pictures. I told him I must satisfy the curiousity of our friends and family that have been diligently asking us for pictures! I haven't bought any maternity clothes, hoping I can get by, so I'm squeezing into some regular clothes. The pants barely zip up and if it wasn't for Anthony's strap style belts, they'd probably be falling off at this point!

So there, "See, I Really Am Pregnant!"

I read the next 4 weeks, bubzi is suppose to double in weight so she took about 5 months to get to 1 lb and will take 1 month to get to 2 lbs. Yeah, I foresee an interest next 4 weeks.......

- julie

Too Late!

I knew it! I knew Anthony would get Sete in the stroller one way or the other!

Senna was soon poking around afterwards determined to figure out how this contraption could be a toy for her. Chili, being Chili, is afraid of it, as we expected. I leaned the changing cot mattress up against the front of the stroller because I know it's just a matter of time before Senna gathers up the courage and leaps into it to make it her new day bed.

My only consolation is knowing that Anthony will be outnumbered 4 females (me, Sete, Senna, bubzi) to 2 males (him and Chili) in the household!

- julie

There's a Baby Stroller In Our House!

Well, first and foremost, if you haven't heard already, the ultrasound we just had revealed we are having a little girl! Anthony will have to wait for "bub" #2 in hopes of a boy but let's get through "bubzi" (as we've grown to start calling her) #1 first. Regardless of the gender though, Anthony already has plans to get her on a dirt bike. And I on the other hand, have been trying to find the most technologically advanced shock-absorbing material I can wrap her from head to toe in by the time that day comes.

Although we're still 4 months out, we've only heard how we should shop early for certain items as stores here do not seem to like to keep things in stock therefore it can take weeks (6 to 12 wks) for any selected items to arrive. Since June is the last month of the financial year here in Australia (tax cycle starts anew in July) we heard now's the time for sales. However, even if things are on sale here, they are still much more expensive than items in the States.

Anthony heard about a warehouse distribution place that was open to the public that specialized in some infant items. So we paid them a visit on Saturday. Even paying wholesale prices (which were $200-$300 cheaper than the retail price) we still gritted our teeth to know that we're still paying at least double what these items would cost in the States. But alas, the bubzi has to sleep somewhere and get around in a "pram" rather than being carried everywhere. On a side note, Australians differentiate strollers into "pram" and "stroller."

A pram is larger, bulkier, and usually converts from infant (lay down) to toddlers (sit up) with add on options like rain covers, sun shades, extra compartments, etc.

A stroller is the typical simple and light sit up stroller that collapses like an umbrella.

We opted for a more reasonably priced pram so that we can afford other bubzi items. Plus in case we have to dump it in a year, it wouldn't be a loss. And yes, Anthony has already tried to talk me into letting him put the dogs in the stroller. I think he likes sending me into a frantic tizzy.

The distribution center also had a couple crib and changing table deals. So we picked up a nice solid cot and changing table.

So Anthony has his first bubzi assembly project to work on now! And I'm sure like all the other male chest thumpers out there he'll say to hell with the instructions!

With the crib, changing table, and stroller sitting in our dining/living area at the moment, it's screaming "You have a baby on the way!!!" It's another reality check that it's REALLY happening!!

I don't foresee us doing much baby shopping in the immediate few weeks as I think I've already sapped Anthony of his quarterly allotted shopping patience in this last go. Well, I'll let him drop his guard after a few days before I hit him with another shopping trip for the very important and another expensive expense for a car seat. So don't give him a heads up!

- julie

Boy or Girl??

I'm writing this just a few hours before our week 20 ultrasound where we hope to find out if we're having a boy or girl! That's right, a few hours before which means you won't find out on this post. I know, it's just cruel!

So as of today I start into the 5th month of our pregnancy. Despite the growing bulge of a belly, sometimes we get hit with a sudden realization that we're about to have a kiddo. Being it's our first, I feel like a fish out of water. I think regardless of all the advise or books I read, it's all going to go out the window once it happens. No, not quite having any panick attacks but I do get those brief moments when something crosses my mind and my eyes grow a little wider and my pulse picks up a little bit. I've already  had the dream where the baby is coming and I realize I don't have anything ready. No suitcase for mom-to-be or the baby and there's no way I was going to tell Anthony to pack something because he's already running around looking for help. I imagine I'll have more of those dreams.

I'm physically feeling well, a huge improvement from all the problems of the first trimester, with the exception of frequent headaches and migraines. Those have been no fun. Anthony has been playing a bit of mother hen when I have those rough days, thank god, even though he himself has already had a long day of 2 hours of bicycling to and from work then a hectic work schedule. He's being a trooper.

Knowing our lives will change in a short 4 months, I've been encouraging Anthony to venture further out with his bicycling. I will have spent the majority of the first year in Australia pregnant but I didn't want that to stop Anthony from taking advantage of some wonderful cycling spots that Oz has to offer. He's signed up for some upcoming mountain bike races for which I'm glad because he'll get to ride in some beautiful places. I will attempt to go to as many of them as possible but some of this further and longer races will probably be a bit trying for me. Plus we still have the 3 furry rugrats to take care of at home. So hopefully we'll get some good cycling pictures up here in the next few months.

Well, going to wrap up for now so I can get ready for the doctor's appointment. Fingers crossed that the "bub" will cooperate and let us take a peek to find out if it's a he or she!!

- julie