Wednesday, February 29, 2012

February 29, 2011

I will never get to write that date again.

Our apartment is a bloody mess and the cleaning lady was scheduled for 2:00. Quarter past two and she's not here. So, I called her twice. She finally called back at like 2:40 saying she'll be there by 3:15 the latest. Ok, you have just lost your job. I shouldn't have to call YOU when you're beyond late only for you to tell me you'll be even MORE late! And it's 3:15 and she's still not here.
Depending on people really sucks sometimes.






....3:30- She finally arrived bearing gifts from her family trip to Algeria. She really is sweet but is always late!! I'll post pictures of what she brought lol! I need to post more belly pictures anyhow.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Sun Still Exists

The sun has retired from hibernation this past week. When I open the windows in the apartment I shield my eyes as this now unfamiliar light comes pouring in like lava. Lyon, too, has finally woken up.

Soon, I'll be able to take this shot in the brighter part of the day.





Saturday, February 25, 2012

Smiles Of My Day



LOVE this one!!

Isn't this the truth!!

"You may think the grass is greener on the other side. But if you take the time to water your own grass it would be just as green."

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Almost There!

There has been nothing 'frenchy' and exciting going on with us Armstrong's! We are just trying to survive this pregnancy and get me back on my feet again. A few weeks ago, a friend of ours threw us a dinner party at our spot and I'm so mad at myself for being so ravenous that I forgot to take pictures. Nevertheless, it was an extremely thoughtful and sweet gesture

Hilton has been having an amazing season thus far, while traveling to places like Ukraine, Belgium, Lithuania, Russia, Greece, Spain, Belgium and other parts of France. Lucky him! He's also been playing House Dad these past few months and prays for the day it will all be over LOL! He's been such a loving, caring husband having to deal with not only keeping the house together, but taking care of us after he's come home from hours of traveling, a tough game, or hours of practice. During his extreme fatigue and illness (he now has a bad sinus infection with a head cold) with blood shot eyes, he doesn't let that stop him from stepping up to the plate and being there for me and EJ....and my irrational hormones (that's another story)!!! The place isn't always clean so we call a cleaning lady to take care of it but Hilton tries to do a pretty darn good job to make sure it stays clean.

 EJ and her french alter ego are thriving out here. She is a happy little 3 year old who simply can't wait for her brother's arrival. She has already taken over his bathing tub and pretends to be a turtle with the tub lodged on her back. She loves to make believe and create mess in the process but it doesn't bother me much because she has a busy mind that needs to stay stimulated at all times! Here's an example of her cute yet devious ways:
Yesterday, she threw on her rain boots, asked for some water for her tea cup pretending she'd be drinking tea with her dolls, but instead used that water to create puddles in the carpet so she could splash in them with her boots!! She jumped around screaming, "Look mommy! I'm jumping in the puddles!!!" Her innocent belly laughter was intoxicating. She didn't have a care in the world as she destroyed the place but I loved seeing her on cloud 9.

Recently, she had an allergic reaction of the skin where she broke out in itchy hives that lasted for a good week. We started treating it with Benadryl but kicked it up a notch with oral cortisone. I think the allergy was triggered by her eating whole wheat grains from school. We are planning on getting her allergy tested quite soon.


For the past few weeks, I've been prescribed a midwife to stop by and monitor my contractions as well as the baby's heart rate. Yesterday, the monitor looked like it was going haywire because of my contractions with 3 big ones in 30 minutes. Concerned because I'm only 35 1/2 weeks, she told me that I need to stay in bed more than before and if I get more than 15 contractions by the afternoon, to call her. By the end of the night, I got well over 15 but some of them were stimulated by me moving in bed, or trying to get out of bed. They're just getting stronger and stronger, sometimes painful. I made sure to drink A LOT of water just in case dehydration was to blame. I have my 9th month check up next week so I will find out then if I'm starting to dilate *praying to God that I'm not*. If my body can keep him in until 38 weeks, then anything after that is fair game. Until then, more strict bed rest for me while Hilton and I work on getting our mothers out here within the next two weeks.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Pix from Christmas Dinner!

I mentioned earlier that we ate Christmas dinner with one of Hilton's teamies, his girlfriend and their family. If I remember correctly, we ate some DELICIOUS foie gras, smoked salmon, cheese fondue with the sweetest white potatoes on earth and some other foods that I can't remember right now lol! Anyway, here are the pictures:


Tigrou, the BEST cat EVERRR (aside from Cuddles, of course!) EJ was brushing him lol!

She raided their room and found their Mini ears!



A very fun night :)


EJ adores him!




The face of a satiated pregnant woman!

Group shot...Take 1!

Voila!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

A Glimpse of Lyon


Lovely spot for camera play

Focusing on the rusty rails

Focusing on the "Secret Garden"-esque background

Random guy chatting it up on his phone

Tons of hills throughout Vieux Lyon-the old part of the city

Trying to capture a fraction of Lyon's scenery

Loving the sky's hues


Forvriere (too lazy to add accents)-Lyon's version of Paris' Notre Dame

The lights are like fire burning against the soft background. Glad I snapped it!

Perfect position for the moon

Stuck around to watch the sky darken

Not really a glimpse of the city, but here's EJ during her first day of ASVEL's Basketball group for kids



Great shot though it didn't go in =P

Date night at my favorite restaurant below!


I made it to week 33!!!! Belly pix are coming :)

Strolling down rain soaked streets filtered with this deep orange light.  She loves her umbrella and her daddy.

The kinda streets I love

See Lyon's Forvriere cathedral at the top of the hill?

Side view of our apartment on the left