Whew

Boy, have I got some catching up to do on this blog. Once you read this, you may forgive us for disappearing off the face of the earth for a little while. It should explain why we have not written you back or called you back or acknowledged you whatsoever. I am so sorry.

Christmas was a month ago but it seems like ages. I can barely remember what happened. I have to admit that I was in a funk all through the month of December. I had nausea and whopping fatigue like nothing but the first trimester can give you. On top of that, I had a weird cold that it took me a while to recover from. Happily enough, the nausea only lasted 3 or 4 weeks and even then, it was manageable. The fatigue made me very. very. very. unmotivated. I didn't want to leave the house ever. I was too tired to do anything. I have no memory of ever cooking. I assume A was fed and clothed somehow. I was also having a bit of city/culture shock and winter was settling in with its gray skies and rainy days. So the first trimester funk, cold, city shock, winter blues all combined to knock me down for the count.

But, my friends, I am better now. In regard to winter, I remind myself that the winter solstice has already passed so the days can only get longer and inevitably, spring will come. Winter blues are poof - gone. City/culture shock was resolved by getting the heck out of dodge, clear to another country. More on that in a minute. And as for the first trimester funkiness, that simply had to be waited out but now I am in the honeymoon phase of pregnancy, the golden second trimester, the I-feel-great-and-I-have-energy-and-I-don't-even-feel-pregnant trimester. That's my favorite part.

G spent most of December writing several papers with a deadline hanging over his head. He spent his afternoons and evenings writing paper after paper all month along for his class in January. He juggled the pressure of a deadline, his papers, doing things his wife was indisposed to do, caring for Ava, and I assume he did some cooking. Seriously, I have no recollection of cooking and we must've eaten somehow. G was wonderful under pressure. Now, that his papers are all turned in and he has finished his class, it's his turn to be down for the count with exhaustion and a cold. I guess stress will suppress your immune system and once the stress is gone, you just collapse for a little while. Well, it's perfect timing because I have the crazy energy and feel-good hormones all over the place and I can pick up the slack. Not that he's slacking. I'm just saying.

Christmas happened. I think I remember vaguely hosting my small group for a party on Christmas afternoon. I enjoyed it but it was still overcast by the first trimester funkiness. We enjoyed watching A opened her presents. A couple of days ago, I found a Christmas present that we'd stashed away for A but forgot to give her. Whoops. So, a couple of days after Christmas, dear friends and their cute blond little boy came to visit us for two weeks. We took them sightseeing and shopping in the city (and some of the sightseeing was my own first time) and we watched TV and played games at night - except for poor G. He continued to write papers at night while they visited except for a couple of game nights. I have pictures to post of all the fun that we had. We love our friends and we were sad to see them go.

Then, we hustled off to Prague for G's class. Prague is my favorite city in the world but man, it's brutal to sightsee in the middle of January. It was very cold and it snowed a few times. G's class was a two-week session and I only stayed for the first week. They had something planned for the wives during the first week with childcare but nothing for the second week. I didn't want to be cooped up in a hotel room for the second week with A since I knew it would be very cold so I decided that I would just come home after the first week was over. One of the lovely highlights of my visit in Prague was my two friends who came all the way from America to interpret the conference (held for the wives) the first week. They were such a tremendous help to me, a bl'ssing, and they brought goodies from America. It was good for me to spend time with the wives and most of them are mothers also, sharing experiences on the field and encouraging each other. It was good for me to get away from the city I live in, to do very little care-taking (no cleaning, cooking, or watching Ava), to reconnect with other like-minded folks, and to do fun things like sightseeing in my favorite city.

Prague is a short hop from Poland where I lived for two years some years ago. When I visited Prague, I was dating G long-distance at the time. Prague is so beautiful, old world, and romantic. I kept sighing and pining for G as I wandered around Prague, wishing we were together seeing the city. Prague is perfect for dating couples and newlyweds. Flash forward to Jan 2012. G and I were sightseeing with A in the stroller when I suddenly realized that I was actually in Prague with G. All that wishing and pining for him had been fulfilled - albeit with a kid in a stroller, ha! I was amazed that it actually happened and G was with me in Prague! We did some fun things like eating dinner on a boat while floating down the Vltava river that is crisscrossed with famous bridges and going to the chocolate museum. We even went to a gluten-free restaurant where I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. G, being the cute nerdy architect, admired all the architecture and snapped pictures. A just froze in her stroller. I don't think she had a good time.

Side note: I've lived in and visited cities before but never in one as large as IST, where we live now. When we walked around Prague a couple weeks ago, I was amazed at how small it was and how easy it was to travel around. I was wondering why I was getting that impression when I didn't have that impression in my previous visits. Then I realized that I was comparing it with IST. Prague is like a drop in a bucket compared to IST.

A and I flew home. I've flown alone with A before but never internationally. It was a direct flight, passport lines were short, the wait for baggage was long but by the time we got home, it would suffice to say that we were pooped. It was snowing when we landed and came directly home so that was lovely to see. For the week that G was still in Prague and we were home, A was sick, my computer battery died because I forgot and left my charger with G, and we stayed cooped up while it snowed and the cold snapped.

G is home now and obviously has brought home my charger. Life is settling back to normal. If you didn't hear from us for the last month, it was because a) I was deep in first trimester misery, b) had friends staying with us, c) I was out of the country, or d) my computer was dead. I'll let G list his own excuses.

Anyway, sorry this post is so long - pictures to follow soon!!