Back Tracking to Fukuoka

Okay, so there's a lot to write about, but I really don't have much time these days, so I'm going to try and keep these next few posts short, and basically just include photos which I know you've been waiting for!

We stayed in Fukuoka for a week. There really wasn't much to do while we were there. I faithfully went for walks daily with Josh which was incredibly nice! We also had a lot of time to fix and clean our/Josh's Kei Van. Just to let you know, that little Kei-van brought us all the way back home!! Two day drive! Amazing little car (with not too much suspension)!
Here are some photos of us compounding/cleaning/painting the car.





Now see this bumper part?? We wanted to repaint it because it was soo scratched up so I took off this blue sticker stuff that didn't look good. Then I sanded the whole bumper part down with some special sand paper. Then I unscrewed the whole thing off to make it ready for Josh to paint. I was a bit leary of having to paint it as it seemed a little hard. My excuse was valid; the smell and stuff in the paint was bad for the baby! :) I should stay away!! Haha!




And, below are a few family photos. We had a nice Tanaka family dinner for Isamu's birthday. On our way up through Osaka we met Josh's grand parents from both sides of the family (his mom's parents and dad's parents). They were all soo sweet and were so happy that Josh was having a baby. :)

Evacuation

Last Tuesday, in Japan News it said that the radiation would spread out and even go as far as Tateyama and other areas in Japan. In our area, as well as the rest of the middle and northern part of Japan we're lacking in gasoline for cars and other things, electricity, and water. Certain foods get sold out real fast such as: survival material (candles, gas for battery charged stoves, batteries, packaged and canned foods, etc.), milk, bread, juice, etc. etc. Search in every store around here and you won't find these things anymore.
That got Josh and I praying about what we should do as we didn't want my baby to have some strange mental or physical problems from this deadly radiation, and we thought that if things did get worse, it'd be very difficult to get out of Tateyama/Chiba area and move down south. Buses were all full or have been canceled, some trains don't work, and who knows if we'll have gasoline for our car the next day!

So, after thinking and praying about the situation, we decided to head down to Fukuoka to stay with Josh's Dad and their family.
I packed in about 20 minutes (because Josh told me to), but because of other people being indecisive we had to wait for another 4 hours or so before we actually headed out.

We drove all night and then got dropped off at Osaka to get some rest, meet up with Isamu (Josh's brother) who was going to drive us the rest of the way, and to visit their Oba-chan who lives on her own in Osaka.
The little old lady in her mid 80s was soo cute and sweet. She insisted that I sleep on her comfortable bed UNDER her blankets, but because I didn't really want to, and because I was dirty from traveling I told her that I'd be fine sleeping on top of her blankets. She then later came over and piled a bunch of her jackets and other little towels on me to keep me warm. Ha! I guess she was concerned for her great grand kid.
We left Osaka around 8:00pm and arrived in Fukuoka around 6:00am.
We are finally out of harms way as far as the radiation and recurring earthquakes goes.

We aren't sure how long we'll be down here, but I'm hoping that we'll be able to make our way back within a week as I have a check up to go to and also...I'm still hoping that our Hawaii trip will work out. The possibility is still there. :)
Please keep us and the baby in your prayers! We love you!

Alright, so I haven't been posting or blogging much. Believe me, I do have the time, however, I've been incredibly lazy these last weeks. Vicious cyle!! Restless, uncomfortable nights, then getting up to a late start feeling tired...then taking a long nap...still tired...and then on to a very slow evening with my husband.
Exercise puts me to sleep instantly! Ha! But, I know I gotta do it!
Midwife still isn't 100% sure whether it's a boy or a girl, but she says that it looks more like a girl than a boy. HA, I knew it! But, can't always be too sure about these things... I don't mind if I'm surprized at the birth to find out I'm a mother of a son.



My belly is definitely getting huge. Hard to breathe, hard to sleep, hard to touch my toes! Heh heh. The midwife says that from now is when I'll probably start getting cravings and a major appetite so I should watch out for eating too much. :) Gotcha! Will do my best! However, I do enjoy sweet, soft breads and ice-cream. I do my best not to buy or eat too much. :)
Maybe in April I'll start going through the clothes and other baby items that were passed on to me and prepare for my baby. During that time Josh will be away at the driving school so I'll have lots of time on my hands as well as "more space" to mess up! Ha ha!
One thing that has changed since I've gotten pregnant is that I don't care too much about messes and organization as much as I normally do. I'm much more laid back you could say. Some days I just don't want to make my bed and Josh comes home from work and makes it for lazy ol' me. Sweet man, -picking up the pieces that I've been dropping lately.
Three more months (and a little) to go!

Went to see the midwife in Chiba prefecture about 2 1/2 hours away from where I live. She's really good and much more "thinking of my needs" than the hospital doctors. The doctors at the hospital are always talking to me about the importance of showing up (when I only missed once) and they're always explaining about business and how the baby book covers most of the costs of the tests so I should take ALL the tests and blah blah blah.
The midwife checked everything, said nothing is wrong and that I'm healthy enough for her to accept me. (She said before that if I had any complications, she wouldn't be able to accept me.)
She really knows what she's doing and gave me a few to-dos to stretch my hip area and strengthen (and stretch) my nipples. Yikes.

Next check up may be next week (to go back to the hospital and tell them I'm going to have my baby somewhere else), or in another 3~4 weeks at the Midwife's place.

I still don't know if it's a boy or girl yet, but I'm guessing that it's a girl like Mia says. The baby isn't so active and doesn't move around all that much, and when it does, it's not too hard. Maybe it's a gut feeling and I could be wrong. I guess we'll see. Once I find out, I'll definitely post. :)

I saw this on the couch today and thought, "That poor tired rabbit could be me in a few more months. Rabbit=mother, Monster= my child."

Better hope for the best and prepare for the worst! :)

22 weeks, 5 months

This morning after exercising, showering, and then standing in front of the mirror, I realized that my stomach has really gotten bigger!
As I went about my business today, I got about 4 people commenting on how big my stomach was getting. One teen boy said, "Whoa, Jan!! You're getting fat!!" haha!! He was, of course, joking and knew it was more than just fat.

My back has been sore and my nights have been restless and very uncomfortable. I've tried propping pillows in front and behind me, but I still find no comfort. :(
My lower abdomen is also a bit sore and at first I thought it was because I was lifting a few heavy things (we changed rooms/buildings), but now I'm starting to think that it's my muscles just stretching out.

I've got to take better photos. The reason why all my photos are blurry or fuzzy is because my camera is heavy, and when I have to hold it out with one hand AND take the photo my hand gets all shaky. :( Darn.

The above photo really makes me look like a big, fat, white whale! Bottom one is better.
Hey Mia, recognize the green wall mat behind me?


Photos of new room coming soon, after it's a bit more set up. Heh heh! I still have a few more baskets lying around that I need to sort through. :)

Paperwork and Marriage

So, as you can see, I've been working on changing my blog look. :) Do you like???

Recently, I've been busy with, what seems to me, a lot of paper work! Getting married, changing registration and having a baby kinda brings it on I guess. I'll be working on changing my name to Tanaka Joanna. It kinda has a funny ring to it, but "whateva!!".

Mom, you'd be proud of me! I've been filling out all the papers in my bestest Japanese handwriting!


Ooh, and I must not forget! Here's the sweet ring that fits PERFECTLY on my wedding finger that Josh went out and got for me. There's two little diamonds and the ring is white gold. It's so pretty, and just the one I would have picked if I were there on that shopping day. :)
THANK YOU Josh for getting me the perfect ring AND for making sure that it fit! You're brilliant!

Massiveness...Biggness!!

So, I went for a check up yesterday and I don't have any dieases or sicknesses. No HIV and all the rest. Whew!
From what the textbooks say, the baby should be around 260g~300g. My baby is 400g! Just to let you know, that's the size a 5 month old baby would be. I'm only 4 1/2 months.
Vesna told me that if I'm taking too many vitamins that could be what's making my baby huge, but I'm only taking one multi-vitamin daily, and sometimes skipping days. So, it can't be that.
Praise told me that if I'm resting and taking it easy then the baby will take all my energy and vitamins from me because I'm not using them, and that's one way the baby can get huge. I'm not lazying around all day, but I wouldn't say I'm active throughout the day, and I'm not so faithful with my exercising. Hmm...this could be part of it.
Course, another reason for this massiveness is that Josh is massive. Half Korean/Japanese. I'm half American/Japanese. Could it be that the baby may have strong Korean/American biggness?? Sheesh! I hope it turns out normal and not a monster child.
Well, thankfully, on the outside I don't look so big. Someone told me today that I didn't look pregnant at all! It's true...with a sweater and jacket on, people wouldn't have a clue.

4 month photos

My photos aren't as good as yours are Lils, but, maybe next time I'll clean my mirror and focus a bit more, then it might come out better.
Actually, I think I lost more weight since getting pregnant. Interestingly enough, it's not because I'm not eating or anything like that, it's because I lost all my muscles! I'm SOOO weak now.
Mia gave me a few new exercise videos the last time I saw her so I'm going to get back those stolen muscles! (Thanks Mia!) (Also, Note to Mia: Thanks for the pants! They are the most comfortable pants I have, besides my pj pants!)

Half way point!

I am now 20 weeks pregnant, and have more or less 20 weeks to go to see a little baby which I can call my own. (4 months, going on 5)

I'm at the half way point and this is how things are:

-No more morning sickness! HURRAAHHH!!!
-No cravings, but I really like fruits!! I ate more mikans in these last 4 months than I did in the last whole year.
-Not emotional or moody (from what I think and what others say about me. From what Josh says, I'm the best pregnant woman he's been around! :) yay!)
-A bit of tiredness (I sleep in, or take long naps mid day)
-Baby is kicking a lot and I think it's real cute. Course, I know after it gets bigger it won't be so cute any more. Ha!
-Then there's the other little things that come with being pregnant, but they aren't interesting or "big" enough to mention.

So, all that to say, I forget that I'm pregnant sometimes! Ha!

On my last check up a week ago, the lady doctor said that my baby is on the bigger side. Thankfully, it's still in the "normal" zone, so I won't be baring a monster or anything! ha!

Josh and I are happy and will be moving to another bigger room (still here in Tateyama) sometime this week or the next. :) Exciting!!!