Customer service in Mongolia

Cust. Disservice

Well, that was weird

I know it's been a while. Life has been...full I guess would be the correct term. Lately I've been either too busy to update my blog or just feeling a bit melancholy and introverted. Luckily I now have some time on my hands and I am feeling much better and less tired emotionally.

Part of the reason I was feeling so "off" is that I was going through a time of extreme fatigue. It's a long story but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with my hormones going out of whack. I started having night sweats (something I had never experienced before with my other pregnancies) and after about 4 nights of waking up soaked several times a night I got to the point that I could barely sleep and felt very tired during the day. It got so bad that I was bedridden for 3 days and could barely sit up to eat or drink anything. Liquid chlorophyll and electrolyte drink helped.

It was right before that or right after, I can't remember now, that I had a something of a nervous breakdown in a store. I had stopped to buy a snack on my way to school one morning and as I took my money out to pay I noticed that one of my bills had something written on it. In Mongolian it said, "May this money bring you death". I started hyperventilating and crying. Before I knew it I was sobbing in the arms of the elderly storekeeper. I felt like the room was closing in and my legs wouldn't work.

I wasn't upset because I was scared that the money would make me die, but the thought that someone would pass this bill on to me, or maybe even write it and give it to me on purpose just made me so sad. All of a sudden I felt so alone and desperate. Thankfully, my little episode was short lived and I was able to make it home to tell Hetee and eventually smile about it.

So anyway, long story short, I looked up the night sweats online and found out that they were caused by unbalanced hormone levels. I thought back over the week and remembered that I had started taking flax seed oil supplements. I googled them and found out that they're really not safe to take during pregnancy and that they contain phyto-estrogens. I stopped taking them and within 48 hours the night sweats and anxiety subsided. I think the Holy Spirit helped me figure this one out. I thought I was going nuts for a while there. =)

More to come, soon. Lots of things are happening here and I will do my best to update you all on a more regular basis. Please pray for me to get a new computer. Our old one is almost 7 years old and so slow. It's been fixed several times but now it's time to replace it with one that the kids can use for school and I can use for work, etc.

Lots of love!!!

Happy Birthday Hetee!

Hetee's birthday was this past Thursday. He turned 32! He's not big on birthday celebrations but I did manage to convince him to have a few friends over for some homemade cake. We all had a good time and even Hetee admitted it was fun!

10 things I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about my Sweetheart

1. He never pressures me to change to fit into Mongolian culture. He accepts me and loves me for who I am.
   
2. He cleans fish very well and handles that and other yucky jobs without complaining one bit.
3. He carries all my heavy stuff when we go grocery shopping at the market (a kg of this and a kg of that adds up to usually about 15 kgs, or about 35 lbs.)
   
4. He works long hours translating to earn extra money for his family.
   
5. He looks for opportunities to spend time with his kids. He invests time and energy in them every day.
   
6. He eats my culinary inventions and experiments most of the time.
   
7. He's incredibly happy about becoming a daddy again.
   
8. He loves to watch all kinds of movies, just like me.
9. He knows when I'm feeling overwhelmed and he always steps up to help.
10. He fears and trusts God.

Happy Birthday, my Love! Wishing you many more happy years to come!

Whoa, Surprising!

So, I just turned 20 weeks and so far I've gained... 22 lbs?! Just to give you an idea of how much that is for me, I normally am 7 or 8 months along before I gain that much (I can't remember exactly but I gain about 35-40 lbs all together for each pregnancy).

But wait! Before you label me a hog, there's a simple explanation for this. My prepregnant weight this time around was 110, which is a bit underweight for my height (5'8"). I was having trouble gaining weight because of a finicky appetite and (ahem...) an addiction to coffee. I was drinking up to 5 cups of the stuff a day and therefore not eating properly and feeling horrible most of the time. Not just the coffee but the sugar was literally making me sick and unable to eat.

Anyway, all this to say that I stopped drinking coffee the day I found out I was pregnant. I stopped cold turkey and didn't even crave it. After about a week or so my appetite picked up and I started feeling a whole lot better. And happily for me, this all lead to a small but steady weight gain, even through the first few weeks of morning sickness.

So, here I am, 5 months pregnant, 5'8" and weighing 132 lbs. Although I've gained more that I "should have" in the 1st trimester, I feel that it's the right amount for me. I'm not eating junky foods. I do eat whole fat yogurt and milk and I use butters and oils somewhat liberally to help with skin elasticity (it's sooooo dry here and this really takes a toll on my skin). I eat lots of protein and know by experience that what I eat now affects my body post partum. The healthier I eat now, the quicker I will bounce back from childbirth. I'm not too worried about what the weight gain charts say. I feel good and am so thankful to be in this place of my life right now.

Happy Birthday, Kenny-Man!

Kenny's birthday was on the 20th of June. We celebrated on the 19th with a small family party. For now, it would seem that we are Kenny's favorite people. He's more of the shy type and doesn't enjoy being the center of attention...






10 reasons why I love me some Kenny:

1. he's super cuddly
2. his favorite transformer is Bumblebee
   
3. he comes to find me during the day just to tell me he loves me
4. his brother is his best friend
5. he wants to be just like his daddy
6. he loves pancakes, just like mommy
7. he's caring and sweet
8. he loves to show off his muscles
9. he's super excited about becoming a big brother
10. he's a handsome little man who is going to grow up to do great things!
    

Happy Birthday. Sweet Kenneth Urnuun!