Registered Baby

OK, so when I said I was done shopping for a while, I meant spending money. Granted I'm only in the hole $27 so far and have 53 items to show for it, but it is still fun to window shop. Soooooo.... here's our Baby Register! Shipping is horrible to Hawaii, so hopefully most of these items can be shipped for free with Amazon.com. Personally, I'd rather have hand-me-downs and homemade items, but obviously some things must be purchased. Haven't decided on a car seat or stroller yet. All suggestions welcome!

Baby Registry:
http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/18NADIYW0KI8A

Super Duper

Gotta love the Super Garage Sale the military hosts quarterly. Stuff is cheap and the people selling need to move their stuff quickly. Had a couple things in mind this time, but as with any sale, you get what you get. Emily joined me and as we approached the field we saw hoards of people waiting for the gates to open. We stretched and warmed-up our elbows for nudging and pushing and went in. Almost immediately I spotted the cutest shelf for Emily, perfect for her newborn baby girl. Picked up some other stuff: Basket ($3) for diapers, onesies, bottles, etc., Messenger-style diaper bag ($3) complete with diaper changing pad and a couple Cheerios, Brand new Carter's onesies 3-set package ($1) marked 10 bucks, some random cute clothes, 3 Noah's Ark bibs, and 2 biblical children's books (love them!). The total came out to $12. I did miss out on a gorgeous bouncer seat, but Emily got the brand name for me. I'm done shopping for a while... or at least until the next Super Garage Sale!

Gettin' Some Good Will

Our local Goodwill store has a couple special bins. Sometimes there are 12 bins, sometimes just 4. In these bins are everything Baby. You can pay 99¢ per item OR you can pick 12 items and pay just $5. They get new stuff in each Monday. So after my ukulele lesson I stopped by... just to browse. 36 items and $15 later I had my first baby purchase complete! Seriously think I'm good on clothes now for the first 9 months. My favorite is the handmade bib made out of a Hawaii Shave Ice pattern. Either that or the Cat in the Hat one. Or maybe the little western shirt. Everything is like new and obviously will be washed. Tried to stick with gender neutral themes and BRIGHT happy colors. So far I'm loving green, orange, turquoise, purple, brown and animal-themed or patterned. I'm not into pink, blue or yellow.

All Terrain

Today Darnell and I visited Kualoa Ranch with friends John and Erica as one year ago we purchased 1/2 price activity coupons. Located on the windward coast of the island and family owned since 1850, Kualoa Ranch is a 4,000-acre working ranch. I knew it was going to be an all-day thing, so I packed tons of snacks and utilized my hiking Camelback bag so I would always have access to water. That turned out to be my saving grace. Had a couple big sneezes, but was able to keep a lot of the nausea down to a minimum. We started off riding ATVs through the valley. I had never been on one. WHOA are they FUN! Loved it. Perhaps too much. Darnell and John got a couple great jumps in! We even went through a stream. Then we took the Jungle tour which turned out to be even crazier than the ATV tour and included a short hike to the top of the Ka'a'awa Valley (see pic). Stopped for lunch at Auntie Patty's Cafe and finished up with the Movie Tour. So much fun!

Horsin' Around

After the meeting with the nurse Wednesday I am much more aware of the frequency in which I need to eat. I was eating the right stuff, just too far in between. Therefore the nausea was getting pretty intense. So now I'm on a every-3-hours-have-a-snack plan, and life is a little better. Still sneezing up a storm. I had booked a sunset horseback riding trip with a campfire BBQ for Darnell and I, so I packed my snacks and off we went. I felt great during the ride and it was an absolute blast. Gunstock Ranch is located on the north-eastern tip of Oahu on 700 acres of pure country. It's not until you spot a single palm tree over Daisy the cow that you remember you are on an island. Darnell rode Sarge and I got Cowboy. Rode for an hour and a half up to the top of a hill, enjoyed the sunset while chowing down steak, local corn, garlic shrimp and Chocolate Haupia pie. Finished off the BBQ by roasting marshmallows over a campfire before riding back to the stables. Loved it!

Needle Time

Have I mentioned how much I detest giving blood? Well today was my first appointment. Basically it sets you up with a doc for your 3-month exam, gets your labs in the system and they go over any family medical issues. Until 3 months they really don't want to see you in-depth in case you miscarry.
I was NOT prepared to give 7 vials of blood. Nor was I prepared to pee in a cup. Survived the blood, although I'm left with a nasty bruise in my arm. Also managed to dribble into the cup, and on my hand, and on the seat, and on the floor. Out of all of this and more than anything I am so excited to learn my blood type. I have been trying for years to discover it and although the Red Cross will provide you with your blood type, they will not accept your blood donation if you have malaria medicine in your blood stream. Well with 76 countries under my belt, I have almost always had malaria meds in my veins.
Met with the nurse who went over all the things to expect the next few months and paperwork that will need to be completed. Set me up with my 3-month exam and provided an info book/journal as well as a DVD. So far so good!