Pasadena Girl

Hi there!

No I haven't had the baby - it's just been really hectic here!!  I know it sounds silly but I never appreciated how much work would go into moving our lives across the pond!  Here we are 6 weeks into being in the country and we're still not done with setting up accounts, ordering furniture, organising bills to be paid etc.  It's never ending!

On Wednesday we FINALLY moved into our long-term rental place!  Our shipping was cleared through customs on Tuesday afternoon and they managed to deliver it for us at 7.30am on Thursday morning!  (not bad going!)  It's great to finally feel like we're setting in properly.  The house is GREAT!!  When I find the charger for the camera I'll take some piccies and load them up here.

I'm now 4 weeks off dropping so really looking forward to everything being sorted so I can sit down and rest before the nipper arrives!  Went to the doctor yesterday and everything is as it should be - so hopefully no early appearances!

We officially vacate our temporary flat today and we don't have internet access set up in the new place yet (something else on the never-ending list to get sorted) so I'll be out of contact for a week or so.  Will try and update again once everything is up and running at the new place. 

Well we're inching ever closer to the Big Day!!  

I had an e-mail from David that I used to work with at Cargill to tell me that Nicola (who I also used to work with) has had her baby!  Mixed emotions from me - really happy for her - but on the other hand she was only 2 weeks more pregnant than me!!  That means we really are very close now!  (she was quite early though.)

Yesterday was very much a baby-centric day.  Richard took the morning off to come to see Dr Mutch with me.  As Dr Mutch doesn't believe anything he's read in my NHS files (there are A LOT of contradictions etc because I always ended up seeing different people) he decided to start from scratch.  So I've had all my blood tests re-done (everything has come back normal) and he wanted me to have a scan as well so he could verify the expected delivery date and the approx. weight of the baby.

We had the scan and the lady was really nice - doing the usual thing of pointing out grey shapes and enthusiastically saying "and that's the kidneys, and the heart, and his femur bone ..." as we look on none the wiser!!  She did confirm that it was a boy though (phew) and we got a look at his face as well!!  (we have a PDF picture so I'll work out how to load it onto this blog so you can see it too.)  It was kinda weird as it was more like one of those 4D pictures you can have in the UK - his face emerged out of the gloom and he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at us!  Quite a strange moment really - and again it brings it home even more that we'll be looking at each other for real pretty soon!!

He was moving around LOADS while the poor lady was trying to do the scan so it was a bit of a challenge for her - chasing him all over the place and trying to get him to hold still (I think I'm getting a glimpse of the future here - no?!!) He didn't let up when Dr Mutch was measuring him and checking his heart rate either.  Dr Mutch seemed pleased that he was so active though (he's got 4 boys himself so knows all about them!)  Weight-wise we're probably looking at about 7.5 - 8lbs - which is reasonable (she says now - wait till I'm trying to get him out of me!)  Date has been confirmed as being around 10th Oct.  I told Dr Mutch about my birthday and Mum's etc but said that I'm not fussed when he actually comes.  Dr Mutch said that actually they wouldn't let me go more than a week overdue anyway so come hell or high water we'll have a baby by the 17th Oct.  (I know I keep on about it but that's only just over a month from today!!)  Plus I don't know why but I think he might be early.  Not loads early but a bit.  I'm secretly thinking the 2nd Oct.

After the appointment Richard had to dash back to work.  I had some lunch and then headed off to find this swimming pool that does prenatal water aerobics.  For the first time since we arrived I got totally lost!  I put the address in the Sat Nav but it took me to somewhere completely different - the Arroyo National Park - which was nice if a little scrubby.  By the time I found the Rose Bowl (the football stadium where the swimming pool is) I'd missed the start of the class.  I decided to have a wander around anyway and get my bearings so that at least I'd know where to come next time.  In my search for the elusive swimming pool I happened upon the Kidspace Children's Museum - I'd heard a lot about it so decided to go in and investigate.  Apparently every woman that has produced a child in the last 5 years had decided to take their brood there on this particular day!!  It was HEAVING with kids of every age and size - and most of them were screaming.  It was a really cool place though and seemed to absorb most of the chaos quite effectively.  It's a 'touch and learn' kind of set up and the current exhibit is all about bugs.  Their are loads of interactive and educational games for them to do and stuff for them to climb on.  For the quieter kids there's a corner with books about insects and their was a woman there showing a group of enthralled small ones a live tortoise (not technically a bug I suppose but it was keeping them happy so hey ho!)

This will definitely be a future destination for me and Childs Junior I think!  (see link for more if you're interested ...  www.kidspacemuseum.org)

I did eventually find the swimming pool but was too hot and bothered to care by then!!  (plus Dr Mutch has warned me not to get too hot or dehydrated as it can make you go into premature labor - we don't want that!  God - we haven't bought ANYTHING yet!!)  I decided to try and find my way back home without the Sat Nav ... and did it too!!  I'm now feeling completely comfortable driving here - it just seems normal - it's amazing how quickly you adjust isn't it!

After a quick trip round to the Social Security office to try and track down Richard's missing social security card the rest of the afternoon was taken up with a trip to Target (a cheap but very useful local superstore) to buy the contents for my hospital bag.  It was an extremely successful trip I am glad to report - and other than a fan and some feeding bras I am now good to go!  (although having said that we haven't done the baby bag yet as the baby clothes are all in the shipping ... so technically I'm set up until he actually arrives in the room ... but definitely not after that!) 

I'm itching to get into the new house now so I can start buying other baby stuff.  First things I'll get are the buggy / car seat etc, a changing bag and all that goes with that, and a bath etc.  I think we could live without the rest for a little bit if he came early.  Worst case we'll just order it all online and have it all delivered once he's here!

Well I'm off to lie in bed and read my book (God - I'll miss that!)

Speak soon! 

I've not written for a while because Oliver's been in the wars.

Before we left the UK he'd had a wee-hours-of-the-morning punch-up with another cat that had come through the cat-flap.  As he fled, the big bully had stuck his teeth / claws in Oliver's arse as a parting gift!!   For a day or two he'd been quite sore around that area (understandably) but then he'd perked up and we seemed to be in the clear. 

That was until last Sunday when he went from being just a little bit off colour to AWFUL!!  We'd been out for the day and when we got home he was really bad - didn't want to be touched and was meowing plaintively.  At about 8pm he crawled down the stairs incredibly slowly looking like he was in real pain and came up to us and with big eyes meowed in such a sorrowful way!  It actually made me cry to see him in such pain and looking so pitiful!  

We decided that enough was enough and with or without pet insurance we had to do something right there and then.  We found a 24 hour emergency pet clinic and Richard managed to find us some pet insurance at the last moment before we bundled him into the car and took him over to be looked at.  They were really great and gentle.  They said he had a big abscess where that cat's claw had gone in, and it had probably been brewing for the last 3 weeks.  Poor little baby!!

We had to leave him in overnight so they could put him under a general anesthetic, shave the area and release the pressure. We called at 11pm to check he was OK and they had done the operation and he was fine.  We picked him up the next day - what a site for sore eyes - his bum was all shaved including the top of his tail (he looked like a poodle) and he had a big plastic collar on!  Richard keeps calling him cone-head / satellite boy etc!    

On the Monday I was going to go to yoga but didn't want to leave him alone as he still wasn't happy.  The next couple of days were pretty tough as he was incredibly huggy and didn't want to be left alone.  He couldn't reach his food to eat it properly either so we had to feed him wet food off a spoon!  By Wednesday his stitches were looking a bit inflamed and sore so I took him to the vets that's partnered with the 24 hour clinic (we needed to register him anyway so it killed two birds with one stone.)  The vet put a couple of extra sutures in place just to make sure and said the wound was starting to look much better.

Richard was off on Friday (love these 3 day weekends he's got at the moment!) so we took Oliver back to the vets to have the drain (a little tube they'd put in) removed.  He's OK now until next Tuesday when we have to take him back to to have the stitches removed.  Although he still hates it he's managing to move around far more efficiently despite the collar. 

We've almost finished the antibiotics we've been administering (that's been a challenge!)  and now we just have to clean the wound every day with hydrogen peroxide.  We were really worried the first time we did it as we thought it would be really painful for him - but he doesn't seem fussed so that's good.

He seems to be on good form now - that's a relief!  He's sleeping better and eating regularly.  Poor thing!  What an introduction to the country!!  Hey ho.  At least it's sorted out now. 

So we went off to Santa Monica to spend a day by the beach and just to check out what it was like. Good news is, it is only 30 mins to the sea and is a pretty simple journey all in all. 

Vicki and I spent some time by the beach (along the pier and the front - pretty similar to a English sea-side pier, just warmer!)

Trastevere (3rd Street, Santa Monica)

We went for lunch in the downtown/Farmers market area in an really good italian place called Trastevere.

http://www.trastevereristorante.com/

We just wanted a light snack and went for the caesar salad and penne arrabbiata - both really tasty. The caesar dressing had just the right amount of anchovy taste in it and was not too oily. The salad leaves were sweet and fresh too. The Penne was cooked al dente and portion size (for once) was just right. All in, with an espresso at the end, the meal came to $20 a head for lunch. It was really busy, however the staff were attentive and service was very prompt and friendly. Overall a really nice surprise which met Vicki's "need" for the caesar salad perfectly!

So it was the end of week 1 at work and I met Vicki in Old Town Pasadena for a bite to eat. The place of choice was...

The Cheesecake Factory (On Colorado, Pasadena)

This was actually better than I had expected - you don't anticipate anything other than good deserts..or cheesecakes as the case here. The service was good. Food was, again, huge. Learning here that it is really up to the individual to manage their own portion control here. We deliberately just went for mains so we could enjoy one of the famed cheesecakes for dessert. I had Pulled Pork in BBQ sauce with 'slaw and fries, Vicki had, at my continual dismay, another Hawaiian Pizza. The pork was good and tender, the BBQ sauce a bit sweet though and too much. Vicki's Pizza was OK, not as good as California Pizza Kitchen from last week. There is a selection of 30+ cheesecakes - we opted to share a Apple/Caramel/Cinnamon/Walnut cake - it was very good (although whether it needed the 2 extra scoops of sweetened whipped cream, I'm not too sure). Overall dinner cost approx $24 per head with drinks and was more than enough food. I'd go back - more of a family/friends, eat loads, have fun type place rather than high end but good all the same

On Monday night we went to our first prenatal class.  As you will know if you've read the earlier blog, Monday wasn't exactly my most successful day on the productivity front.  Having failed to do almost everything I'd planned to do I walked into Old Town and had a VERY large chocolate malt and some fries from Johnny Rockets to console myself.  Then I spent $70 on a pair of shoes.  That made me feel a bit better.

Richard came home at about 6pm after a frustrating day at work - just the usual 'new job' stuff like phone's not working, laptops not configured correctly etc.  He was hungry and grumpy as well bless him and would probably have rather not had to go out again that night.  He wasn't terribly impressed that the only thing I'd achieved that day was to spend money on shoes either!!  He was a bit snappy - but did apologies later and make amends.

I drove to the hospital (in preparation for my first solo trip on Wed when I have to drive myself to the doctors) and that went OK.

When we got to the hospital I tried to find someone I could pay for the classes but there was no one relevant around.  We then saw a heavily pregnant woman walking (or waddling) in the direction of the class we were about to do.  She was carrying all manner of stuff!  I said to Richard - "why's she brought loads of stuff with her?" and he responded with "have you read the info sheet for tonight?"  .... oh God.  No.  As I stood there and read it it clearly stated "please bring with you 2 bed pillows and a blanket, and wear comfortable trousers"  Of course we were sans pillows and blanket, and I was wearing a skirt.  WELL that was the final straw - I'd obviously managed to mess up EVERYTHING and I just stood there in the corridor and booed my eyes out! (very un-characteristic!!)   Poor old Richard realised that I'd obviously reached the end of my tether and was really sweet and supportive.

Thankfully when we got into the class it seemed that I was not the only dappy pregnant woman there as a couple of the other couples didn't have pillows etc either.

The class was actually really good!  The lecturer was engaging and funny and very knowledgeable and we learned a breathing technique, how to use visual props, and pressure points Richard can press on / massage to help me with the pain.  I was really surprised how much emphasis they put on the role of the husband.  She said to the 'birthing coaches' as they are called "if you do your jobs properly then you can be more powerful than any amount of drugs we can give your wife".  I think Richard has really embraced that fact that he can be such an integral part of this ... and I very much want him to be too!  That was the first of 4 Lamaze classes over the next 5 weeks.  We also have 'how to look after baby' 'baby CPR' and 'breast-feeding' classes (although the blokes don't tend to go to the breast-feeding one.)

Today (Wed) I had my first appointment with the fabled Dr Mutch!  I had to drive there all by myself - and managed to do it too without any grief!

He was really nice - very low key as everyone had said.  He didn't appear particularly impressed with my UK NHS notes though and kept raising his eyebrows as we looked through them saying things like "well this bit here contradicts that bit there ... that's interesting".  I tried to explain that you rarely if ever see the same person twice in the UK so they never really know your whole history.  "hmmmm" was his response.  He seems relatively happy with me but wants to do some tests just to know "exactly where we are with things" therefore I have to go back again tomorrow morning for a blood sugar / glucose test etc.  I'll then have an ultrasound in 2 weeks time and have to see him again.  That 30 min appointment cost me $300 ... thank the Lord we can claim it back through Richard's health insurance!

Well I'm off to look up prenatal yoga classes now.  (see below for an update on the house!)

Well - big success story!  We have a house!!!

You know the house that I talked about earlier? (the one with the pool and the pylon) - well we decided (pylon aside) that it was by far the best house we'd seen and that we wanted to make an offer on it.  Apparently we were in good company though as they received 3 offers within 2 days of putting it on the market!! (It's also in a really good school district so that would have made it even more popular.)  The owners came back to Jaclyn to say that it was really important to them to rent it to the right people so they wanted all the couples that had made offers to write a letter introducing themselves so they could pick the 'best' people. (groan)  Well I pulled out all the stops and wrote a FABULOUS letter (if I do say so myself) including the fact that we were also renting our property back in the UK so knew how important it was to have tenants that would look after the place etc etc.  Jaclyn (being sensible) also insisted that as part of the information we submitted to them we requested that they drain and clean the pool properly (as the paint was flaking off it in parts.)  

We seem to have hit the right chord as they have PICKED US AS THE CHOSEN COUPLE!  Not only that but they are going to re-plaster the pool ... and re-do the roof to boot!!   Now we just have the small matter of transferring the funds into their account.  You'd think that it would be simple as long as you had the cash available but OH NO!  It seems that Barclays will only allow you to remove funds from them and transfer into a different bank once you have fought to the death and dragged the money from their cold, dead hands!!!  Richard spent some considerable time a couple of days ago speaking to one idiot after another trying to explain that "no - it wasn't possible for him to go into his nearest branch to complete the paperwork as he was in a different country".  I swear he must have said that about 5 different times ... it obviously was beyond their comprehension that you might need to transfer funds when you were currently somewhere other than Shepperton!!

ANYWAY!  Rant over.  We have a move in date of Sept 1st.  Our furniture etc is due to arrive on Aug 30th so it looks like things might be coming together!  Very exciting!!!  

2008-08-11

Well it's Richard's first day at work and therefore my first day home alone! 

I was very impressed this morning when - as promised - Richard was up at 6.30am to GO TO THE GYM which is part of our appartment complex.  He did 20 mins on the bike and then came back for a shower and a bowel of yoghart, blueberries and honey.  He really has embraised the California lifestyle already!!  (lets see if it lasts though!)

I got up and had breakfast with him - then I had my agenda for the day:

• Call our bank in the UK and find out about transferring funds
  
• Call various service providers in the UK that are sending us final statements and sort out monies owing etc
• Complete all this by 9am (ish) and then go down to the pool for a couple of hours till 12pm when I had a planned call with Mum
• Speak to Mum
• Call the hospital and pay for our prenatal classes (that start tonight)

This is not a Charles Campion type review service under which I will critique in microscopic detail the available cuisine in Southern California, rather a straightforward point of view of which places are worth (or not worth) a visit.

Needless to say, I can't start this without speaking about Burgers.

Islands (The Paseo on Colorado, Pasadena)

Standard american fare at this mexican/american burger joint. Good selection of LARGE burgers and good chips. Wholewheat buns are a plus and endless refills on soft drinks make this place good value for money. Service is good but it can get busy at weekends so be prepared for a 15 min wait.

California Pizza Kitchen (Los Robles, off Colorado, Pasadena)

Vicki really liked this place because it served that unspeakable Pizza creation, the Hawaiian, you know, that one with Pineapple and ham/bacon. Overall this place was really good value for money. The pizza's were fresh and a size that was manageable for one person rather than being a huge intimidating beast. Again, this place gets busy but there is a service that you can use to book ahead and jump the queue which, really is just like booking ahead but sounds better but good I guess if you decide to go at relatively short notice.

Le Pain Quotidien (Colorado, Pasadena (old town)

This place is part of a belgian chain of restaurants which have a counter bakery and an area where you can sit down and eat. Great for breakfasts on a Sunday morning (with kids/newspaper). All of the food is organic (or seems to be). The bread and pastries are great and the service is pretty good even when busy. This place is a bit more expensive but you can justify that by telling yourself because it is organic, it is doing you good! The brownies and apple turnovers were good and it was a blast from the past to have soft boiled eggs and bread soldiers for breakfast.

4th Aug 2008.  8pm

Well I never thought we'd actually manage it but we're here!

The last week in the UK was challenging to say the least!  I thought I'd sorted the house out ready for the packers to come in - but when they arrived on Monday morning at 8.30am and started to whirlwind through the living room like a pack of locusts I realised that we weren't quite as ready as I'd thought!!  After grabbing my laptop from a packing box (thank God I just happened to be looking in that direction at the time), and having to ask them to open a couple of other boxes to retrieve our camera - I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown!!  Richard was great though - so calm and on top of things.  I ended up sitting on the ground in the spare room having Braxton Hicks - not a good experience when you don't know what they are!!  So Richard kept me out of the action for the next couple of days just in case!  The last challenge of the week was the bloody cat going AWOL!  We ended up having to sleep on a blow-up bed in the living room on Thursday night in the hope that he'd come back!  Thankfully our cunning plan worked and he was trapped in the house ready to be taken to the cattery on Friday.  He's staying there until this coming Friday when he's flying over here (just to give us the first week to get settled in.)

So after a VERY hectic week with about a million well wishers wanting to speak to us and pop round (very nice that so many people care about us - but absolutely exhausting for the two of us at the time) we were off!  Both of us slept really well on the plane!  Must have been the release of stress!  We arrived on Saturday afternoon, picked up the hire car and managed to navigate our way to the temporary accommodation.  It's actually really nice - a bit appartment complex (kind of like a self catering holiday set up) with a pool and a gym.  We've got a 1 bed appartment with wooden floors and a spiral staircase up to a mezzanine level.

I don't want this post to turn into a novel so here's a quick recap of new experiences in the last couple of days:

• Getting used to driving an automatic car on the wrong side of the road
• Working out how the washing machine and tumble dryer work (they're MASSIVE!)
• Experiencing an escalator designed just for trolleys! (the human escalator runs in parrallel)
• Picking a cat litter tray from a selection of 25!!  (not joking ... I counted)
• Still struggling to work out the automatic timer on the air conditioning!

Tomorrow we're going house hunting - would be great if we can find somewhere more permanent even though this place is really nice.  Then we'd have an address as well (that would be great!)

Anyways - signing off for now.  Back soon!